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COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 

THEIR HABITS, INTELLIGENCE 
AND USEFULNESS 



Translated from the French of Gos. DeVoogt, by 
Katharine P. Wormelev 



EDITED FOR AMERICA 



CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT 



IV J TH ILL USTRJ TIONS 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
Cbr atbrnitum prcfis 

1907 



UBRARYofOONQRESS 
Two Cooles Retnlved 

NOV 4 .90r 

CN Gimntht Entry 

OUSS/4 XXc, Nb. 
/qopy B. 



sr^i 



Copyright, 1907 
By GINN & COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
67.10 



GINN & COMPANY . PRO- 
PRIETORS . BOSTON . U.S.A. 



PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN liDITION 

Our many domestic animals liave played an important role in the civilization 
of man. Without them — especially the dog, the liorse, the cow, and the sheep — 
man's development onward and u]nvard would have been slow and uncertain. Those 
countries in which the problem of domestication did not enter remained ever near 
to barbarism, never progressing beyond a certain limit. The American red man, 
brave, cunning, persevering, could not overstep the boundaries that limited his 
civilization, because he had no animal that he might domesticate, and no beast of 
burden to aid him in doing certain kinds of fatiguing w'ork. 

This book is concerned with these helpers of civilization. It is to teach some- 
thing about their value to man, so that they may receive more aj^preciative attention 
and more kindly consideration from the resident of the city and of the country, that 
this book appears. 

For many photographs that are reproduced on the following pages grateful 
appreciation is expressed to Mr. John F. Cunningham, Cleveland, Ohio; to Mr. 
Joseph E. Wing, Mechanicsburg, Ohio ; and to the Ohio Farmer, Cleveland, Ohio. 

C. \V. BL'KKEIT 
Kansas Statk Ackiculturai, College 
Manhattan 



CONTENTS 

Page 
List of Illustrations ............ vii 

Introduction ............. i 

Chapter 

I. The Dog ............. 6 

II. The Cat .............. 73 

III. The Horse ............. 96 

IV. The Ass and the Mule . . . . . . . . . . .158 

V. The Sheep ............. 164 

VI. The Go.at . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 

VII. The Pig ............. 201 

VIII. Cattle 208 

IX. The Gallin.aceous Tribes .......... 220 

X. Rabbits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252 

XI. The Birds of the Aviary .......... 263 

XII. Pigeons .............. 284 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Cock and Hen 
Two Dogs , . 
Dogs . . . . 



Watcliing a liird . . . 

Horse 

On the Way to the Hunt 
Collection of Animals . 

Goat 

Rabbit 

Swans 

Dogs 



The Friend of Man 

Ready for a Sea Bath 

A Pleasant Meeting 

Sicilian Coin 

Are they speaking to Each Other? 

Teeth of a Dog a Year Old 

Teeth at the End of Two Years 

Teeth Worn and Blunted in an Old Dog 

Example of the Elastic Skin of the Neck 

Example of " Feather " on the Tail 

Wavy Hair 

Curly Hair (Retriever) 

Long Hair (Pomeranian) 

Extra Long Hair (Poodle) 

Woolly Hair (English Sheep Dog) 

Silky Hair (Yorkshire Terrier) 

Under Arrest 

Rest and Play 

Frolicking 

Astonishment 

They are Hot ! 

Too Hot in Front ; too Cold Behind 

Scrutiny 

Modern Types of Fox Terriers, Smooth Haired and 

Wiry Haired 

Bulldog. Pure Blood 

English Mastiff 

Champion Bulldog 

Spotted Bulldog 

Black-and-Tan Terrier 

English Setters 

Good Type of Setter 

German ShortHaired Hunting Dog 

Handsome Pair of Gordon Setters 

Wiry-Haired Hunting Dog 

German Long-Haired Hunting Dog 

German Long-Haired Hunting Dog 

Blenheim Spaniel 

Children of Charles I (/«« /)iy/-) 

I'l'S ' 

Prince Charles taking a Drive 

King Charles 

ICnglish Foxhounds before their Kennel 

English Foxhounds 



Page 

Foxhound Pups for Puppy-Dog Contest ^3 

White Poodle 24 

Black Poodle 24 

Newfoundland 25 

Dandle Dinmont Terrier 25 

Skye Terrier 25 

Bull Terrier 26 

11 er Favorite was a Scotch Terrier 26 

A Few Prize Boxers 27 

Skye Terrier with Long Ears 27 

Waldmann 28 

German Basset 28 

French Basset 29 

Beagles 29 

Cocker Spaniel 50 

Handsome Pair of German Hounds 30 

Blackfield Spaniel 30 

German Hound with her Young and a Dutch Sheep 

Dog, her Kennel Companion 31 

German Watchdog 31 

Spotted German Watchdog 32 

Black Wolf Dog 32 

Black and White Wolf Dogs 32 

Prize Dog 33 

Belgian Schipperkens 33 

A Very Fine Type of Woolly-Haired Retriever • ■ - 33 

Superb Collection of Pointers 34 

Kennel of Pointers containing the Best Continental 

Types 34 

C; lossy-Haired Retriever 35 

Dutch Shepherd Dogs 35 

German Shepherd Dog 35 

Wagon Load of Puppies 36 

English Shepherd Dog (Collie) 36 

old English Shepherd Dog (Bobtail) 36 

Collie 37 

German Terrier (Pincher) 37 

English Terrier (Irlandais) 37 

Dutch Terrier (Smousje) 37 

Airesdale Terrier 37 

Scotch Greyhound 37 

Russian Greyhound (Barzoi) Lebedka 38 

Arabian Greyhound (Slougi) 38 

A ShortHaired Greyhound 39 

St. Hubert Dogs 39 

The Barrel Kennel 41 

A Kennel of Past Times 41 

The Model Kennel 41 

The Same Kennel Wide Open 41 

Large Kennels seen from Without 42 

Large Kennels seen from Within 42 

Rewarded 43 

Larder for Kennels 43 

Dog with a Korthal's Collar 44 

Extra Wide Collar for Bulldogs 44 



Vlll 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Page 

"Pups! Pups!" 45 

" Ladies, come in ! " 45 

A Walk with a Dog on a Chain is often but Half a 

Pleasure 4^ 

Choose between Me and your Machine 46 

Agreeable Promenade for the Dog 47 

Articles used for the Feeding of Dogs 47 

Indispensable Articles for the Kennel and Wardrobe 

of Dogs 48 

A Dog ought to eat with Pleasure 48 

He ought never to have too much to eat 49 

A Good Combing 49 

Comb off the Dead Hair, 50 

Toilet Completed 50 

Maternal Cares 51 

Young Mastiffs S~ 

Young Basset Hounds — German 52 

How to Lift a Young Dog 53 

How not to Lift Him 53 

Burying the Dog 54 

A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society . . 55 

German Police Dog 56 

Dogs of the River Brigade, Paris 56 

Bloodhounds : the Quarry is Found 57 

A Brigade of Life-Saving Dogs organized by M. Lepine, 

Prefect of Police at Paris 57 

German War Dog 58 

St. Bernard (German Type) 58 

St. Bernard 59 

A Splendid Lot of St. Bernards 59 

Overwrought Draft Dog 60 

A Fine Team 60 

Dogs of the Customs Service at Roubaix 61 

Ready to Start 61 

Customhouse Officers and their Dogs 62 

An Arrest 62 

Ready to obey Orders 63 

Careful Bringer of Game 63 

Charging, after bringing it Home 64 

Playing Chess 64 

A Sporting Dog should seize cautiously 65 

Retrieving from the River 65 

Charging after the Sliot is iired 65 

Circus Training 66 

A Difficult Feat which requires Long Practice ... 66 

Judging Dogs for E.\hibition 67 

Conscious of his Victories 67 

Dog trying to cross the Frontier with Contraband 

Goods 68 

A Promising Young Dog 68 

Decorated with Champion's Cross 69 

Traveling Cage 69 

Traveling Basket 69 

Trained to hunt Rats 70 

Driving out after an Illness 71 

Blue-White, Long-Haired Male Cat 74 

Persian Cat, " Silvery Jessamine" 75 

Cat of Bubastis, Ancient Egypt 76 

Sunning Herself 77 

Half-Wild Burmah Cat 77 

Midday - .... 78 



Page 

Ten at Night 79 

Si.\ in the Evening 79 

Apparently Asleep, but watching a Mouse 80 

Dangerous Situation for the Cockatoo So 

On the Watch 81 

Tolerance 81 

Little Miscreants 82 

Spanish Cat of Three Colors 82 

Long-Haired Cat in Four Colors — Black, White, 

Brown, and Blue 83 

Tabbies 83 

Young White Cat 84 

Blue Persian Cat 84 

A Celebrated Tabby. A Prize Winner 85 

White Persian of Great Beauty -85 

Blue Persian Cat 86 

Siamese Cat 86 

Male Angora Cat 87 

Female Angora Cat 87 

Blue Cat with a very Remarkable Head 88 

Nursing Mother 88 

Brown Angora Cat (Male) 89 

Celebrated Persian Cat, " Fulma Zaidee " 89 

Young Tricolor Cat go 

Uses of an Old Hat 91 

Booted Cat 91 

A Dangerous Plaything 92 

Mischief 92 

Making Acquaintance with Photography 92 

Climbing 93 

"They mean to fling me into the Water" 94 

A Horse (front view) 96 

A Family Party 97 

Half-Blood Mare of Holstein 98 

Head of Horse born White (Albino) gS 

Our Faithful Friends 98 

On the Road in Ohio 99 

Spotted Horses of the Steppes 99 

Cossacks of the Guard (Russia) 100 

Ready for Transport (Libou, Russia) 100 

Horse Market, Utrecht, Holland loi 

Bitjoug Stallion (Russian) 102 

Orloff Mare (Russian Trotter) 102 

Oldenburg Coach Horse (Mare) 103 

Same Llorse Trotting 103 

Blue-White Mare (German Coach Horse) 104 

Light Bay Oldenburg Mare 104 

Pinzgau Horses (German Half-Blood) 105 

Half-Blood Hungarian (Jucker) 106 

French Coach Horse 106 

Half-Blood Hungarian (Jucker) 106 

French Saddle Horse 107 

French Draft Horse 107 

Percheron 108 

Breton Pony 109 

The English Thoroughbred Running Horse .... 109 

Hunter " Tom Brown " no 

Hackneys no 

Stallion Polo Pony, " Mootrub " no 

Welsh Pony with Foal in 

Shetland Ponies in 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



IX 



Shire Horse 

Clydesdales 

Competition of English Cart Horses held in Regent's 

Park in 1903 

Suffolkl'unch Mare, " Queen of Diamonds " . . . . 
" Reve d'Or," Stallion of Heavy Belgian Draft Breed 
Type of a Two-Vear-Old Ardennes Stallion . . . . 

Frisian Stallion 

Frisian Stallion, Jet Black 

Jutland Horse 

Olander Ponies, Sweden 

Norwegian Pasture for Horses 

Prussian Stallions 

Pure-Blooded Arabian Stallions 

Kentucky Horse 

Horses in Corral, Wyoming 

" Interest " 

Spanish Step 

Making him Kneel 

The Celebrated Trainer, M. Oscar Carre 

Obstacles to Leap 

Interior of a Riding School 

Ready to Start 

A Noble Breed 

Returning from a Ride 

Inspection of a Riding-School Horse 

A Young Cavalier 

A Good Type of Saddle Horse 

Break of a Horse Dealer 

Harness Horse born White (Albino) 

English Hansom Cab 

A Well-Harnessed Horse 

A Set of Six 

A Famous Six-Horse Team 

First Prize, Work-Horse Parade, Boston 

A Set of Nine 

Watering 

A Prize-Winning Team in Chicago 

Team of Farm Horses, Ohio 

Winter 

The Statue of William the Silent at The Hague 

Types of Cavalry Horses 

Remounts 

Raising the Leg of a Restive Horse 

Exercise in Drawing 

A Captain of the Republican Guard 

Uhlans of the Guard 

Hold Firm ! 

The Republican C.iuud, Full Dress 

Trumpeters of the Cuirassiers 

Horse of a German Artillery Otificer 

German Bodyguard 

English Lancers searching for the Enemy 

Horses of the English Army 

Training to Hunt 

Training to Hunt 

The Meet 

Type of Hunter 

The Favorite 

Ready for the Race 

Before the Race 



Quo Vadis 

" Derby Day " in other Days 

" Derby Day " in our Day 

Scene at Newmarket 

The Race W^on 

Flying Fox 

A Superb Jump 

Cresceus 2.02yi 

Trinqueur, French Trotter 

Russian Trotter 

Hambletonian Stallion . . 

Dan Patch i-SS'A 

Directum 2.05X 

Champion Double Team, " Sometimes " and " Always" 

Brushing Him 

Horses Ready for Transport 

Cleaning Him 

Coming In 

Before Critics 

At the Blacksmith's 

Shoeing for Mules 

Shoes with Soft Cushions of Tow, Cork, Felt, and 

Gutta-percha 

Stables of a Riding School 

Interior of a Riding-School Stable 

A Straw Bath 

Cow Ironies on a Nebraska Ranch 

The Wild Ass 

Sicilian Donkeys 

"Orphan Boy," Grand-Champion Jack, World's Fair 

A Trained Zebra 

On the Beach 

A Pair of Young Mules ... 

White Donkeys 

A Donkey 

A Zebrule 

" Romulus," a Celebrated Zebrule 

A Dutch Sheep Farm 

Milking a Sheep 

A Mouflon Ram 

A Cotswold Ram 

Persian Fat-Tailed Sheep — Ram, Ewe, and Lamb . 

Dutch Sheep 

Cheviot Ewes, First Quality 

A Wallachian Ram 

Wyoming Shepherd and his Outfit 

Sheep Ranching Scene in Alberta, Canada .... 

Very Fine Cheviot Ram 

Oxford Down Ram 

A Morning Walk 

A Trio of Oxford Down Champions on Exhibition . 

Hampshire Down Ram 

Shropshire Rams 

A Rare Species of tlie .Shropshire Breed 

The Shower Bath 

Sheep Baths 

Ram of Old Leicester Breed 

Ready to Start for the Paris Exhibition 

A Leicester Ram 

A Suffolk Ram 

A Lincoln Ram 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



A Family of Exmoor Sheep 

Grand-Champion Lincohi Ewe 

A Kent Ram, Champion at Many Exhibitions . . . 

A Southdown Ram 

A Very Fine Specimen of a Dorset Ram 

Welsh Ewes 

A Celebrated Mountain Ram with Blacl; Head . . . 

A Welsh Ram 

A Merino Sheep 

Shetland Sheep 

A Madagascar Sheep 

Sheep on the Swiss Alps 

Spanish Sheep 

A Group of Ohio Rams 

Sheep on the Hillside, Wyoming 

Ewe and Lamb, Ohio 

Competition for Shepherds in Germany 

Sheep Market in Holland 

En Route for the Slaughter House 

Sheep Market in Paris 

Very Long Fleece 

A Dutch Goat 

Swiss Milch Goats 

The Support of the Family 

Sarnen He-Goat 

French Milch Goat 

Goats called " Hertgeite " 

Belgian Goats with Horns 

Belgian Goats without Horns 

Swiss Goats called " de Sarnen " 

Three Maltese Goats (left), Two Native Belgian Goats 

(center) 

A Dangerous Situation 

Wonderful Tolerance ! 

Norwegian He-Goat 

Ready to take out Baby 

Yearling Angora Buck 

Exhibition of Goats in Harness 

Yearling and Aged Angora Bucks, California 

Playfulness 

A Drove of Hogs in Ohio 

Pigs at Home 

Grand-Champion Tamworth Boar and Sow .... 

Property of Ohio State University 

Feeding Pigs 

Mother Hog and Little Ones 

Cow with Uneven Horns 

Two Orphans 

Norman Milch Cow 

Maternal Cares 

French Steer 

In Alabama 

Good Draft Oxen 

Ruminating 

Bull, French Breed 

An American Type 

In Scotland 

Milking Cows in France . 

A Fine Dutch Bull 

A Winner in Three-Year-Old Class at Stark County 
Fair . . . ' 



17S 
"79 
179 
I So 
180 
iSi 
iSi 
181 
1S2 
1S2 
I S3 
184 
1S4 
185 
185 
1S5 
186 
1 86 
.87 
1 88 
1S8 
190 
191 
192 
192 
193 
193 
194 
195 
'95 

196 
196 
197 
197 



199 
199 
200 



204 
205 
206 
206 
20S 
208 
209 
209 



Team of Four Oxen in the Nivernais 214 

In Alabama 214 

Good Dutch Pasturage 215 

Groningen Bull 215 

Cornelia XXVII, Celebrated Dutch Milch Cow . . .215 

Friesland Milch Cow 216 

Dutch Calves 216 

Head of Highland Bull, " Sir Audrey " . . . ■ . .216 

Grand-Champion Hereford Bull and Cow 217 

Shorthorn Cattle 217 

Hornless Cattle 21S 

In Ohio 21S 

Long-Horned English Bullocks 219 

Mr. Cock 220 

The Mrs. Hen 221 

The Family Complete 221 

White Wyandotte Cock 222 

" Ursus " 222 

Plymouth Rock Cock 222 

"Nero " 223 

Black Cochin-China Cock 223 

Black Minorca Cock 223 

Plymouth Rocks 224 

A Brahma Hen 225 

" Rita," a Braekel Pullet Prize Winner 225 

A Mechlin Coucou Hen 226 

White Mechlin Cock 226 

A Mechlin Coucou Cock 226 

Mother Hen with Little Ducklings 227 

Incubating Box 227 

Incubators 22S 

Incubator with Chicks One Hour Old 229 

White Mechlin Hen 229 

A Celebrated Specimen of the Mechlin Breed . . . 230 

Dutch Lien, Goudpel Breed 230 

Cock of Fine Stature 230 

A Silver Braekel Hen 231 

Year-Old Pullets 231 

The First Egg 232 

A Divided Hen Yard 233 

Poultry Yard 234 

White Wyandotte Hen 234 

Silver-Penciled Wyandotte Hen 235 

Silver-Penciled Wyandotte Cock 235 

Partridge-Colored Wyandottes 235 

Cocks' Combs are a Dainty for Epicures 236 

Black Minorca Cock 236 

A Typical Light Brahma Hen 237 

A Fine Specimen of the Cochin-China Breed . . . 237 

Plymouth Rock Hen 237 

White Leghorn Hen 23S 

A Brahma Cock 238 

A Pair of Mechlin Coucous 238 

A Lover of Fights 239 

Small German Cock ' 239 

A Paduan Cock 239 

A Dutch Cock with White Topknot 240 

A Dutch Cock, Goudpel Breed 240 

The Dutch Breed " Zilverlaken " 240 

A Silver Braekel Hen 240 

A Ladder for the Babies 241 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



XI 



A Hen with Young Ducklings J41 

Inclosure for Ducks 242 

Wild Ducks 242 

Indian Runner Ducks (Male and Female) 243 

Speed 245 

Muscovy Ducks (Male and Female) 243 

Geese fattening for the Market 244 

A Family of Geese 245 

The Arrival of the Feeder 245 

Toulouse Geese 245 

Chinese Geese 246 

German Geese 246 

Embden Geese 247 

A Pair of American Bronze Turkeys 247 

Turkeys in a Field 248 

Young Turkeys 24S 

Turkeys in a Park 249 

A Swan's Nest 249 

The Bosom of the Family 250 

Black Swans 250 

White Swans 251 

A Dark Silver Rabbit 252 

A Pair of Russian Rabbits 252 

An English LopEared Rabbit (Female) 253 

An English Lop-Eared Rabbit (Male) 253 

A Leporide Rabbit (Female) 253 

A Blue-and-Tan Rabbit 254 

A Giant Flanders Rabbit (Female) 254 

A Young Giant Flanders Rabbit 255 

A Giant Vienna Rabbit (Male) 255 

A Leporide Hare-Colored Rabbit 256 

A French Lop-Eared Rabbit 256 

A White Angora Rabbit 257 

A Light Silver Rabbit 257 

A Dutch Rabbit 258 

A Russian Rabbit 258 

A Tricolor Rabbit of Japan 259 

A French Papillon (Male) 259 

A Blue Beveren Rabbit (Male) 260 

A Polish Rabbit 260 

A Black-and-Tan Rabbit 260 

Bex for Transporting Rabbits 261 

A Dutch Rabbit (Ill-Marked) 261 

A Female Leporide with her Young 262 

Wild Canaries and their Nest 263 

The Norwich Canary 264 

A Norwich Canary with Hood 265 

Cage for Small Birds 265 

A Nonvich Canary with Gray Hood 266 

Young Thrushes 266 

The Red Bengal Finch 267 

An English Canary with Hood 267 

The Tricolor Canary 268 



The (;ray Wagtail 268 

The Toilet of a Canary for the Exposition .... 269 

Dry with Care 1 269 

The Arrest of a Fugitive 270 

The Woodpecker 270 

Our Friend the Sparrow 271 

Nonnettes with Black Head and Blue and Black Helly 271 

An Aviary de Luxe 272 

Grand Annual Exposition at London 273 

A Belgian Canary 274 

A Yorkshire Canary 274 

A Flat-Headed Canai-y of English Breed 274 

The Aviary of the King of England 275 

The Thrush 276 

The Green Finch 276 

The Winter Canary 277 

One Type of Canary 277 

The German Linnet 277 

The Blackbird 277 

The Linnet 278 

The Dutch Bullfinch 278 

The Spring Wagtail 279 

The Lark 280 

The Goldfinch 280 

The Wavy Paroquet 28 1 

Gray Paroquet, or Poll Parrot 2S1 

The Green Paroquet 281 

The Starling 282 

A Trained Crow 282 

The Crow and the Rook 2S3 

The Dragon Pigeon 284 

A Collection of Various Pigeons 285 

The English Falconet Pigeon 285 

Young Pigeons 285 

Common Domestic Pigeons 2S6 

A Corner of the Garden 2S7 

A Wild Pigeon with her Young 288 

A Loft of Fancy Pigeons . 2S9 

The Carrier Pigeon 289 

Scotch Pigeons 289 

The Tumbler Pigeon, Old Dutch Breed 290 

The Magpie Pigeon 290 

A Dovecote at a Proper Elevation 291 

The Dwarf Pouter Pigeon of Amsterdam 292 

The Almond Pigeon 292 

Carrier Pigeons 293 

The Barb 293 

The English Pouter Pigeon 294 

An Old Carrier Pigeon 294 

Gernian Pigeons 295 

The Engli.sh Falconet Pigeon 295 

l^eacock-Tailed Pigeons 296 

Baskets, etc., for Transporting Carrier Pigeons , , . 296 



LIST OF COLORED PLATES 

German Dog Frontispiece t 

Page 

Kittens 73 " 

HoKSK 96 

Donkeys 158 " 

Sheep 164 

Rabbits -52' 

Cockatoos 280 _ 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



INTRODUCTION 



Our subject is inexhaustible. From the boy 
who bcheves that his dog knows as much as he 
to the scientist who demonstrates 
to his satisfaction by laboratory 
experiments that animals are but 
creatures of habit and not of rea- 
son, all the world is interested in 
the animals of the home. Their 
presence seems to be necessary in 
complete the family circle. 

What touching tales we read 
of the fidelity of dogs ! Who has 
never amused himself by plaving 
with kittens, whose gracious little 
ways are equal to their graceful- 
ness .' Who does not remember 
the anguish of heart when his pet 
lamb of childhood was laid away in the garden 
grave, or when the pet of any kind, whose last 
da\s had come, was returned to the earth for 
burial and rejjose .' 

These things indi- 
cate the affection which 
man has for domestic 



animals, and the almost human ties that often 
bind him to the brute creation. 





The numerous photographs that illustrate 
Onr Domestic Animals will cast light on tlie 
descriptions in the text, and wc haw stri\cn 
to make the style of the volume agreeable and, 
above all, anecdotical. It is by stories and pic- 
tures that we teach children the princijial things 
of life ; it is equallv b\' stories and iiirlures that 
we now desire to create a love for the 
animals who share our lot, and for those 
whose fatal destiny it is to feed us. 

Scientific men have concerned them- 
selves seriously (though relatively only of 
late) with most of the domestic animals in 
a manner that promises the speedy solu- 
tion of many problems. Designers have 
cleverly, though less .seriously, represented 
these animals, while painters have tried 
to reproduce them, as far as brush and 
palette would allow, — more particularly 
horses, dogs, and cats, — in all their mani- 
fold variety of form and color. Sculptors 
ind poets have immortalized them in many 
a masterpiece, and they serve as models of 
design for the various branches of the arts 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and industries. The first toys we give to chil- 
dren are miniature reproductions of the animal 
kingdom ; the first scribblings of a baby resem- 
ble more or less the shapes of domestic animals. 
Young and old, 
poor and rich, 
learned and igno- 
rant, all take an 
interest in one 
another of 
le animals. 




that interest ? How can we give a general idea 
of the lives of the chief domestic animals to those 
who cannot, or will not, have all the species con- 
stantly about them, and yet desire to know as 
much as possible on the subject without being 
obliged to consult a scientific 
library ? We believe we shall 
attain this end, in the first in- 
stance, by photography, which 
alone can reproduce with per- 
fect accuracy the acts and mo- 
tions of animals. This work has 
been undertaken on the express 
condition that the photographs 
shall be taken from life, and as 
recently as possible. Numerous 
photographers from all parts of 
Europe and America, some of 
them of great experience, have 
well fulfilled their extremely 
difficult task (the reproduction 
of animals being one of the 
most troublesome problems of 
their art), and have sent us an ample and 
striking collection of portraits of animal life. 

All that was needed, in addition, was descrip- 
tion — description that should not weary, but 



give relaxation — and a succinct treatment of 
topics which, from a zoological point of view, 
might have required more attention and also 
more space. The origin of the various species, 
the study of propagation, the question of the 
play of color, the numerous anatomical subdi- 
visions, are merely indicated in the following 
pages. The inquiring reader may consult learned 
books and place them beside the present vol- 
ume, which treats of the same matters in an 
absolutely popular way. 

The choice of domestic animals and their 
classification was not easy to make. What to 
us is a domestic animal is generally so elsewhere ; 
yet the line is sometimes difficult to draw. The 
dog, the first beast ever tamed, has the most 
ancient claims, if by " domestic animals ' ' we mean 
particularly those that have been completely 
tamed. The cat incontestably holds its place in 
every household, where it takes precedence of 
the horse because of its small size. After the 
horse come the ass and the mule, closely re- 
lated, and then the goat . Sheep form the extreme 
limit of the kingdom of domestic animals, and 
one step more brings us in the midst of — cattle ! 
And the pig ! Surely we must not omit him. 



» 




-/ 


-KK 




ft' 




P 


•mj: 



Watching a Bird 



Then come the gallinaceous tribes, and with 
them we enter the inclosures and poultry yards ; 
for, after all, by "domestic animals" we do 
not mean exclusively those that live within the 



INTRODUCTION 



walls cif our houses. All the quatlrupetls and 
bipeds that for centuries ha\e l)een in contact 
with man. that are grouped in friendly confidence 
around his dwelling, that live for his use and 
pleasure, and are, more or less, inider his direct 
supervision, being fed and cared for 
by him, are domestic animals ; 
and those who know true coun- 
try life are never surprised 
to see Brown, the horse, 
poke his head through the 
garden gate, or Blanche, 
the cow, walk up to the 
kitchen door and eye the 
meal that the housekeeper 
has prepared for the 
mother hen and her brood. 
That horse, that cow, those 
chicks, take an active part in the 
external life of the household. We 
follow with interest their good and 
their evil fortune (they have both from time to 
time), and we soothe their sufferings as much 
as possible. 

And the hens ! if they are not domestic 
animals in the true sense of the term, we 
invite the city denizen who doubts it to go 
without eggs. What privation if there is no 




white of egg for the sick baby, no fresh-boiled 
egg for the debilitated old man ! Hens in the 
poultry )ard and eggs on the table, such is the 
true order of things ; so the poultry yard, as 
well as the hens and the cocks, is part of the 
loiiiestead. 

Besides these there are many 
lirds living about our dwell- 
ings which, though not 
actually domestic under 
all aspects, are neverthe- 
less tame. Swans and 
ducks, turkeys and 
geese, are rather nearer 
to us than pigeons and 
canaries, but they all 
ome under the head of 
imestic animals. The 
canary, especially the one that 
i>uts a little gayety into the dull 
home of the workingman, is a domes- 
tic animal we should regret to be without ; also 
those handsome, many-colored birds in our 
aviaries which herald the dawn with their 
warblings and disperse our waking cares. 

Thus domestic animals deserve attention. 
We very often see pretty traits in their charac- 
ter which, unfortunatelv, we do not remember 




OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




later. The photographs here 
presented endeavor to recall 
them. 

In the following pages 
there will also be found 
much advice that may be 
useful to the breeder of each 
particular race. It does not 
enjoin more or less precise 
methods, or give special 
rules, but simply gives counsels 
of general utility, recognized, 
collected, and applied for many 
years by the most noted breed- 
ers with fortunate results. The 
breeding of stock for profit or 
pleasure (but specially for profit 
in the care of horses, sheep, 
and poultry of all kinds) has 
become very extensive of late, 
and the regions where it is 
chiefly carried on have derived 
much benefit from it. The 




raising of useful and handsome animal 
stock has become a science, which 
now actually forms a subdivision in 
zoology. The zoologist could prf)b- 
ably derive large profits from the 
breeding of horses, dogs, and poultry, 
if closer relations could be established 
between the two sciences, and if the 
halls of study opened wider in the 
direction of stables and kennels. 

Zoology is the theory of practical 
breeding ; for without e.xact knowl- 
edge of the life of animals the 
breeder will never succeed in perfect- 
ing certain qualities. But it is not 
from books that he can learn the prac- 
tical working of life or the art of 
giving it: he must, above all, rely on 
experience. 

The special literature on these 
topics is not in all hands. He who 
owns a dog or a pony does not fill 
his library with books on dogs, nor 
does he put in his stable a shelf of 
books treating of ponies. But there 
are many things to be told of the 
dog and the pony which would in- 
terest that owner and perhaps give 
him fresh ideas about them. 
The history of dogs, like 
that of other domestic ani- 
mals, is of very ancient date, 
and is closely related, in fact 
is even parallel, to that of 




INTRODUCTION 




man. Their structure, their characteristics, 
their peculiarities, give rise to very remarkable 
comparisons. Numberless are the traditions, 
the anecdotes, and the facts which show to what 
extraordinary development the intelligence or 
instinct of these animals can attain, whether 
spontaneously, or b_\' exercise or cxijerience. 

How is it possible not to 
wonder on seeing a hunting 
dog stop short in the open 
country, motionless as a 
statue, seeing nothing around 
him for yards till the par- 
tridges take wing, giving proof 
of the Jiiiir of the animal ! 

Horses and some other 
species of domestic animals 
have also given almost incred- 
ible proofs of intelligence, 
attachment, courage, and cau- 
tion, which can only increase 
the regard they inspire in us. 

All this, no doubt, increases 
the desire to know more of the 
life of animals, and this desire 
we shall try to satisfy in the 
course of this work. 

We have given our atten- 
tion, in certain places, to the 
manner in which sick nr 
wounded animals should be 
cared for. In civilized socieiv, 



a society of progress, all negligence 
of the comfort and well-being of ani- 
mals is a step backward in the ])ath 
of civilization. In such a society, 
surely, we ought to find a.sylums for 
animals, and the art of animal heal- 
ing should obtain univer.sal sympathy. 
Nor should we fail to speak of the 
protection due to animals from the 
point of view of humanity as well as 
of usefulness. It is proper here to 
insist once again ui)on the fact that 
every one can contribute in a vast 
degree — if he will — to diminish the 
unnecessary sufferings endured daily 
by cats, dogs, and horses; for instance, 
many children, whose education has been sadly 
neglected, make martyrs of cats and dogs. 

If, therefore, this work can attain its object, 
it will not only afford a few hours' amusement 
to the reader, but it will benefit more than one of 
those intelligent creatures who, during our own 
lives, have lived with us as faithful companions. 




THE DOG 



I. Bond of Friendship between Man 
AND Dog 

Buffon said and wrote, "The dog is the 
friend of man." Though the works of that 
writer, very learned in his time, no longer fill 
the prominent shelves of our scientific libraries, 
the vrords just quoted are to this day con- 
firmed and established by reiterated proofs. 

How was this junction between the man 
and the animal brought about, and why have 
dogs, from the earliest antiquity, so sepa- 
rated themselves from other animals 
that they have been in favor 
with the " most civilized 
creature of the earth," even 
when the civilization of that 
sovereign of creation still left 
something, or to be more 
frank, still left much to be 
desired .? 

If we knew with certainty 
whence the domestic dog 
(canis fmniliaris, the learned 
call him) is descended, it 
would be easier to answer 
the above questions. But we 
cannot as yet point with ab- 
solute certainty to the animal 
species with which man's 
amicable ties were formed. 
Perhaps it was a species of 
wild dog now extinct ; perhaps wolves and 
jackals had their share in the matter. 

Men of science in the olden time took very 
little interest in knowing whence our useful 
domestic animals had descended. Though 
most of them were not disposed to consider 
Noah's ark as the cradle of all the species, 
they did not delve much deeper into this inter- 
esting problem. We may even say that the 
study of the races of the domestic animals 




The Friend of Man 



extends back, at the most, half a century. It 
is true that men like Belon (1554), Kampfer 
(1712), Guldenstadt (1776), and Pallas (1776), 
as well as Ehrenberg, Reichenbach, and others, 
tried to throw some light upon the question, 
which, however, was not cleared up until 1884. 
About that year very interesting excavations 
were made of prehistoric lake cities in Switzer- 
land, which brought to light remains of animals, 
chiefly dogs, older than any hitherto known 
and recognized. 

Then, and especially after the pub- 
lication of the masterpieces of 
Darwin on " domestic ani- 
mals and plants," scientific 
men, like Ye it el ess, Ruti- 
meyer, and Naumann, con- 
cerned themselves seriously 
about the unknown ancestors 
of the domestic dog. Alas ! 
those ancestors had left no 
other inheritance than a few 
bones and broken skulls ; but 
these remains, such as they 
were, were minutely exam- 
ined. The Austrian profes- 
sor, L. H. Yeiteless, was so 
enthusiastic in his work along 
this line that he even dedi- 
cated one of the skulls, found 
near Olmiitz, to the memory 
of his mother, who had died in 1869, — 
"skull of canis mattis optimae." 

Nevertheless, in spite of minute researches, 
no certainty has yet been attained as to the 
origin of the domestic dog. We can still make 
only suppositions, and these attribute the pater- 
nity of the race, in the first instance, to the 
jackal and a species of Indian wolf. We can- 
not therefore know with certainty what animal 
species it was that, in its primitive state, first 



THE DOG 



felt itself attracted to man ; but it is cer- 
tain tliat individual self-interest, both in 
man and beast, played a chief part in that 
treaty of friendship. The fires where the\' 
could warm themselves, the mounds ot 
slaughtered game, must have brought the 
wild dogs, or the canine animals, near to 
man ; while the bones of dogs found in the 
oldest human caves of the Stone Age pro\ c 
that man sought and attracted the dog — 
to feed upon him. 

Therefore it seems that there was self- 
interest on both sides. But this selfishness 
was destined to have fortunate results, tfi 
interests in common soon bear fruit. In tlu 
first place, the supreme question for buti 
was how to procure food ; next, how to lie 
able to defend themselves in their painful 
struggle for existence. These two natural 
necessities made closer contact desirable, 
and primitive man was intelligent enough 
to see in the dog a skillful hunter and a 
brave defender. The- dog, on his side, 
must have found great advantages in the 
neighborhood of man. Through the thick veil 
that covers the primitive epoch of our planet 
we early see the dog and man forming com- 
panionship, while the other anima 
domesticated later, keep them 
.selves at a distance, fierce 
and distrustful. 



II. Appreci.vtion 

THROUGH THE AgES 

Dogs have always 
been held in great 
esteem, especially in 
Europe and America. 
It is true that in civilized 
countries men no longer 
shave their heads on the 
death of a favorite dog, as 
was the ancient custom in 
Egyptian families, but adniiialion 
is never lacking. Xeno])hon called ^ i>,.k.as.a 
the dog an " invention of the gods." 
Among the Greeks, his compatriots, hunting 
was an art practiced with the greatest precision. 





Kf.adv for a .Ska P.ath 

and their poets praised to the skies the excel- 
lent qualities of hunting dogs. Homer, father 
of Greek poesv, devotes many lines to those 
mimals. Mythology represents them 
s iiowcrful and miraculous. The 
Romans employed them as 
fighters in the arena, and 
to a lesser degree in the 
chase ; but by the great 
(.|uantity of dog flesh 
which they offered in 
sacrifice to the gods, 
we see in what high 
sieem they held the 
nnnal. The Romans, 
moreover, gave dogs a 
ood, though severe, edu- 
cation ; and once a year they 
.-hipped them all soundly be- 
cause they did not bark at the attack 
n the Capitol, when the geese showed 
greater vigilance. In the Low Coun- 
tries, later, rigorous severity was shown against 
heedless or criminal dogs. It was thus that the 



NT Ml.lCTlNC 



8 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Sicilian Coin 



dog Prove tie, belonging to 
Jans van der Poel, was con- 
demned by the aldermen of 
the city of Leyden to be 
hanged by the public execu- 
tioner in the market place, 
where it was customary to 
punish criminals. His pos- 
sessions were confiscated with all the solemnity 

befitting such punishment. After this e\ent the 

inhabitants of Leyden were 

long nicknamed "hangers of 

dogs." Little did they think 

that in 1574, during the siege 

of their city, they would learn 

by sad experience that it 

was better to eat dogs than 

to hang them. 

The predilection that 

princes and celebrated per- 
sons have shown for these 

animals proves the esteem in 

which they were held. Henri 

II now and then wore round 

his neck a basket in which 

were young puppies, so 

Sully relates in his memoirs. 

Frederick the Great allowed 

his greyhounds the utmost 

liberty, both indoors and out, 

at his chateau of Sans Souci. One of these 

famous hounds, named Biche, was taken 



prisoner at the battle of Soor (1745), and was 
only restored to her master after long and 
ceremonious negotiation. James II of England 
cried out to his sailors, when the ship in which 
he sailed was in sore peril, " Save my dogs and 
Marlborough ! " In our day Queen Victoria 
was the greatest lover of pure-blooded dogs, 
a fondness for which she inherited from her 
mother, the Duchess of Kent, who throughout 
her life took the utmost care of her kennels. 





Teeth of \ I) 



E.ACH Other? 



We should know better what Richard Wag- 
ner thought of these animals if he had lived to 
finish his book, Histoiy of my Dogs. It is well 
known that the master of Bayreuth loved dogs 
and owned several highly bred species, among 
them Newfoundlands and St. Bernards. A 
friend of his relates that he one day compelled 
a street urchin to sell him, for a thaler, an old 
half-blind dog which the boy was about to drown. 
The dog bit his rescuer, but Wagner, instead of 
punishing him, found him an asylum. Dickens, 
in his account of ]\Iy Father as I Recall Him, 
describes with much sympathy and affection the 
dogs in the paternal home. Zola's pets, espe- 
cially Pin, must often have consoled him in the 
days of his painful struggle. Pin's full name was 
The Chevalier Hector Pin-Pin de Coq-Hardi, 
but Zola called him friend and comrade. 



THE DOG 



These are only a few specimens taken at 
random from the rich collection of evidences 
of affection given to dogs bj- intelligent men. 
Let us now examine into the actual li\cs ot 
our dotrs and see their numerous useful deetls. 




Teeth at the End ok Two Veaks 

While so doing we shall give some ad\-ice on 
the best methods of bringing up, caring for, 
and utilizing these intelligent animals ; pho- 
tography will do the rest. 

III. The Uog Internally and Externally 
If we sent postpaid to our readers 247 little 
bones, asking them to construct therefrom a 
perfect specimen of the domestic dog, we 
doubt whether many of them would be pleased 
with the gift. We therefore refrain from 
sending it, and consequently ha\e no need to 
add to the 247 bones 42 teeth and a few 
ear cartilages that go with them. Yet those 
fortv-two teeth desen-e an attentive examina- 
tion. As long as they remain in the animal's 
mouth they serve, as with horses, to determine 
his age. It is useful to know that a normal 
dog ought to have twelve incisors, four molars, 
and twenty-six large teeth. The first, or milk 
teeth, appear from four to six weeks after 
birth, and give place to the incisors from four 



jirccautions, we open the jaws of a dog and 
behold a number of prett_\- little white lilies 
at the end of the crown of the inci.sors, we 
know the dog is still young, that is, under a 
\ear old. Krom the first to the .second year 
these teeth become more or less worn, and 
when the animal is in his third year they are 
completel}- worn out, especially those in the 
lower jaw. A dog must be more than four years 
okl before the eyeteeth and the teeth below 
them become visibly worn ; and this indication 
grows more and more distinct with age. After 
the sexenth \ear the teeth are completely worn 
down, and drop out here and there. In making 
an examination we must not forget that food, 
according as it is hard or soft, has a great 
influence on the condition of the teeth. 

Teeth excepted, the other parts of a dog's 
skeleton, and the nobler parts which it incloses, 
— such as the lungs, the heart, etc., — do not 
require us to make a long examination, unless, 
indeed, we wear the spectacles of a zoologist. 
The muscles and the sinews that form the flesh 
and join the articulations are of great impor- 
tance to the breeder, because theY are in close 







fi 


WM 




ir 


£ 


^^^H 






"^'i 


^ 




1^ 


m 


mI 



Teeth Wokn and I?i.uNTEn ix an Oi.n Dot: 



relation with the exterior forms, and especially 
with the ability of certain species of dogs to 

to six months later. The large teeth appear in perform the work for which they are intended. 

the third or fourth week, and drop out at the W'e shall have to speak later of the position 

end of five months. If, therefore, taking due of the lungs in a broatl high chest, or in a 



lO 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



narrow, deep one ; but we pass now to an 
exterior description of the animal. 

First in line come the skin, the hair, the 
color, and the physical conformation. 

The skin of dogs which have not been over- 
petted or too delicately reared is rather thick 
and solid. In many it is 
supple, especially about 
the neck and head. All 
dogs have upon the 
head, near the jaw and 
above the eyes, seven 
little round protuber- 
ances from which spring 
several sensitive hairs, 
which have their nerves 
and roots in those pro- 
tuberances. In healthy 
dogs that are properly 
cared for the skin is 
odorless, but at the least negligence or the 
least illness a very disagreeable effluvium is 
given forth. 

The hair of dogs protects them from atmos- 
pheric influences, and also, in certain cases, 
from injury to the skin. Though dogs give 
much less time to their toilet than parrots 






Example of the Elastic Skin of the Neck 




Example of " Fr-Axiii- 



or cats, there is really no ground of complaint 
against them on this score. Their hair falls 
naturally into place ; upon the back and along 
the flanks it lies with regularity from the front 
towards the hind quarters, and in certain long- 
haired dogs we can distinguish a dividing line. 



or "part," along the back and on the legs. 
Thus Mother Nature herself takes care of their 
toilet. Yet it is curious to observe how she 
allows the hair on the chest, the belly, and 
under the neck to get tangled. The joints 
form the boundaries between these patches of 
hair that are so different 
in direction. The longer 
the hair the more erect it 
is on the joints ; hence 
those curious tufts that 
we find behind the 
paws of certain breeds. 
These tufts are called 
"feathers " ; we find 
them on the tails of set- 
ters, and wherever a 
variation in the direction 
of the growth of the hair 
exists. In dogs with 
rough or wiry hair it does not lie in the normal 
direction, but grows erect in every direction, 
in a confused mass. 

The different kinds of hair play a great part 
at bench shows, as we shall see later. Two 
kinds are specially distinguished from each 
other, — the long-haired and the short-haired, 
— in both of which come a legion of 
varieties, such as glossy, rough, bristling, 
curly, wavy, woolly, silky, frizzled, etc. 
These nomenclatures describe themselves. 
The Pomeranians have long hair, while 
the German watchdog has it short and 
glossy, the griffons bristling, retrievers 
curly, Russian wolfhounds wavy, English 
sheep dogs woolly, some poodles frizzled, 
and certain Maltese dogs, also Yorkshire 
terriers, silky. 

The color of dogs, or, properly speaking, 
of their coats, plays a great part in the 
valuation of breeds, and also, unfortunately, 
in the estimation of fashion. Which is the 
finest color ? Put it to public vote and the result 
would have only a passing value. The idea of 
beauty changes with each epoch, and the choice 
between the black, red-brown, uniform brown 
or striped; yellow, gray, or white of our dogs 
depends on circumstances and on the purpose 



4 


^ 


f ^\JB?X 


1 


f^^M 


Ipff 




i^vv dM^^HUH 


P^ 


- 


'4^' 






Wavv Hair 



Curly Hair (Ri-.TKir;vi;R) 





Long Hair (Pomeranian) 



Extra Long Hair (I'oodi.f;) 





■ 


I^H 




i 


■^I^H 




Woolly Hair (English Siikf.p Dog) 



Silky Hair (\'orksiiiki: Tkrrikr) 



12 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



for which they are 
chosen. For dogs 
of mere fancy, — 
for pets, — the 
color and especially 
the markings about 
the ears, the head, 
and the back 
should be as deco- 
rative as possible, 
while hunting clogs 
should be of a color 
easily distinguish- 
able at a great dis- 
tance in the hunting 
field. Hounds, on 
the contrary, ought 
not to show against 
the bushes or fields 
when at work. A 
beagle, which 
creeps among the 
fox burrows, would 
be useless if he were white and could thus show 
the fox where his enemy lay. 

We frequently find local disappearances of 
the color of the hair, very noticeable in spotted 
German watchdogs and in Dalmatian or tiger 
dogs. A very remarkable phenomenon is the 
striking tendency in dogs — as in other animals 




UN]J1:K ARRlihT 




Frolicking ' ■ 



J 



— to a complete obliteration of color (albino- 
ism) ; this is accompanied by the appearance of 
red eyes and a very injurious blunting of certain 
organs, or else by a delay in their development. 
The conformation of the dog presents as 
great a variety as his coat and his color. Here 



'\l. , "1 








\ ^ 




>• 

f 


V/.'--.^b; 










;^:v^'--^ 




'' ■v 


■ ■ .It 


' ■*..''' 




.^[^ 




■^ . 


1 .-'-■ '^^:^-<i- 




/' 

■* 


^^ 


L • <- 


' - ' 


^^ 




k " - 




•^ 


^'.: - 


- ■ "a 




'"^ 




iBJ 


:^^^P 


.'.«&»8saHa«»-.. 




. ■- 


-"'^-': .i5iva.-:':'^ia««i 



RiCST AND I'I.A\' 

again we must never lose sight of the purposes 
for which the different species are employed. 
It is important, therefore, to have seen dogs 
at their work and in their element. Then, 
and then only, does the external beauty of 
each breed show itself fully. 

IV. General Characteristics ; Special 

Habits 
It is quite possible that dogs now and then 
malign one another when alone by themselves, 
but as long as their language is incompre- 
hensible to us we have only good things to 
say of their chief characteristics. 

Their fidelity is proverbial. Hundreds of 
instances could be given in which dogs will 
not quit the dead bodies of their masters, but 
s'feek — positively sc-ck — death upon their 
graves. As for their vigilance we could cite 
not hundreds, but thousands of cases in which 



THE DOG 



13 



they have prevented great evils, and many nioic 
will remain forever unknown. 

On January 27, 1897, the little daughter of 
a shepherd, in the province of the Loire, was 
sitting at the edge of a forest when a wild 
boar rushed out in front of her. She tried 
to run away, but fell ; the animal wounded 
her in the back and was about to strike 
again, but as she fell she called to the dog 
which was not far off ; " Help ! help ! Bas 
Rouge ! " The brave dog, understanding 
the danger, sprang upon the boar, which 
was far stronger than himself, and caught 
his ear, not letting it go till the child had 
time to get up and run away ; he then aban- 
doned the unequal contest, and the boar, 
severely bitten, took to the woods. 

Every one knows how the little dog of 
Prince William I of Orange saved his mas- 
ter from an attempt on his life b\' bark- 
ing, in order to wake him, the memor)- 
of which act is immortalized in the statue 
of William the Silent at The Hague. 

Another of the dog's good qualities is 
that he forgets very quickly any wrong that has 
been done him — if the doer is a friend. If, 
on the contrary, he is an enemy, he is never 
safe in the vicinity of the animal he has preju- 
diced against him. Dogs never fail to recognize 
their friends. Is it by sight, smell, 
hearing, or some intuitive per 
ception of good will.? It 
probably not by the first 
those senses, for a dog 
seems not to see things 
very clearly when close 
at hand, at least not 
in comparison with 
man. On the other 
hand, he sees things 
at a distance easily 
and more accurately, 
thanks to the more or 
less oblique position 
of his eyes. But in any case he trusts his ears 
more than his eyes. Young dogs, especially, 
guide themselves by sound rather than b\ 
sight, for they are almost blind till tliev are 



twenty-five days old. Yet a dog will see better 
than a man in a dim light, and this acuteness 
of vision is owing to the peculiar construction 
of his \isual organs, a construction that efjuallv 




AsTIINISIl.MENT 

explains the luminous brilliancy of his eyes in 
the dark. 

The nose of a dog far surpasses that of man 
in capacity, without referring to the difference 
in shape, though that does undeniably e.xercise 
some influence on the scent. It is not necessary 
that the noses of all dogs should be moist to 
eep them in good health, but those with wet 
noses are much more 
likely to be healthy, 
and vice \'ersa. We 
shall ha\'e occasion 
later to speak of the 
miraculous, scent of 
bloodhounds and 
(if hunting dogs, for 
It is miraculous, 
though belonging to 
modern times. 

It is generally ad- 
mitted that the hearing of dogs does not greatly 
differ from that of man. His musical knowledge 
antl his taste lor music alone leave something 
tci he desired. This explains his manner of 




H 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



greeting with lamentable howls a street organ, 
the good or bad playing of a piano, the vulgar 
or the artistic twanging of a violin, or the soft, 
sweet singing of a lute. People call it howling. 
A dog neither laughs nor weeps. Is he sad, 
he puts his tail between his legs, hangs his 




Too Hot in Front; too Cold Behind 



head, and emits a plaintive howl. Is he joyful, 

his behavior is just the contrary : the expressive 

thermometer of his soul rises, quivers, wags, 

and a joyous bark, quite different from all other 

barks, sharper and shorter, is heard. When 

certain dogs are in particularly good humor 

they show their teeth from time to time and 

clack them, protruding their lips, 

and a sort of grimace spreads 

over their visage. They 

also express joy by leaps, 

roHing on the ground, 

and all sorts of comic 

contortions ; and, what 

is very remarkable, the 

same expressive motions are 

seen in wolves and jackals. The 

licking of their master's hand 

must be regarded as derived from the habit of 

hcking objects that are dear to them — their 

young, for instanoe. Hence comes also the 

habit of some dogs and their congeners of 

biting one another in play. 



Scrutiny 



The bite of an angry dog is to be feared. 
His teeth are shown as far as possible, his hps 
and ears are drawn back, and his hair bristles 
up along his spine. The meeting of two dogs, 
strangers to each other or distrustful, is nearly 
always accompanied by these phenomena. 

V. The Princip.^l F.amilies 
OF Dogs 

It has always been, and still 
is, a brain puzzle to class cor- 
rectly the innumerable canine 
races. Aristotle (333 b.c.) 
began to do so, and the end 
is not yet in sight. Hunting 
dogs, pet dogs, useful dogs 
great and small, street dogs, 
watchdogs, have served as 
the main groups. Cuvier de- 
sired to introduce a new 
classification of the canine 
races according to the length 
of their skulls. Linnaeus gave 
only a passing attention to 
them, and Fitzinger estimated 
that three hundred species were altogether too 
few. Suppose we try, in our turn, to make no 
classification at all. Open the iron gates wide 
and let them all come in pellmell — dogs with 
short hair, long hair, wiry hair, and smooth hair, 
little dogs and great dogs, sporting dogs, hunting 
dogs, watchdogs, and let one and all show what 
they are and what they can do. 
Fox terriers. It would be 
marvelous if the agile, 
combative fox terrier did 
not come first. He is a 
joyous animal, who is no 
longer exclusively em- 
ployed in fox hunting or in 
starting game (foxes and 
badgers). He has become the 
fashionable pleasure dog, and 
such he remains, due, doubtless, to his neat 
figure, his lively air, and his amusing nature. 
Belonging to the great family of terriers (known 
in England in 16 17, during the reign of James I, 
as earth dogs, terriers), he is really much less 




THE DOG 



15 




Modern Types of Fox Terriers, Smooth Haired and Wikv Haired 



suited in form to subterranean work than the 
bassets, for instance. Consequently the fox 
terrier now contents himself with rats and 
mice, which he attacks furiously, to the de- 
light of amateur sportsmen. The breeding of 
these terriers with smooth hair and wiry hair 
has been carried on extensively, espe 
cially in England, and fabul 
sums are given for the best 
specimens, which often 
win first prizes and are 
exported from time ti 
time to European 
countries or 1 1 > 
America, where the}' 
become the founders 
of new families. For 
such competitive ani- 
mals special account 
must be taken of th' 
bones, and of the sym- 
metry of the body, the head, 
and the paws, though even here 
there is great difference of taste 
The prize-winning fox terrier of 
to-day differs in essential points 
from the one of hve or six years ago 
must be .decidcdl)- black, but less importance 
is now attached to the distribution of white, 
which is, of course, the dominant color, and to 
the black, which ma\' now form sjiots amund 
the eyes, on the ears, the tail, and along the 
back. A fox terrier must be neither brown imr 




Bii.i.Dofi, Pure Blood 
The nose 



striped, and the ears should be small and bent 
forward along the cheeks in the form of a V. 

The mastiff. More persons than one will 
think that the mastiff is not made for a pleas- 
ure dog, thanks to his great height, his thick, 
big head, his enormous muzzle, and more es- 
pecialh' to the sinister expression 
iven by wrinkles around and 
between the eyes. Yet these 
dogs are usually mild and 
placid, though \-ery 
.trong and very brave 
on occasion, which 
traits make them well 
suited to serve as ter- 
rors. Idstone relates 
that a mastiff allowed 
to roam at night 
around a country house 
did no harm to tramps 
r thieves so long as they 
layed outside the fences ; 
but he watched them, walking 
ntinually round them, so that the 
poor follows ended by standing in 
the same place till daylight, not 
daring to stir. The patent of nobility for 
mastiffs will be found in England, where they 
were bred, it is saitl, in the fifteenth century 
b\- the family of Leigh of Lyme Hall. When 
bear hunting came to an end in England (for 
want of bears) bear gardens were invented, 
where sportsmen amused themselves by seeing 



i6 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




English Mastiff 

combats between mastiffs and 
bears or bulls. These arena 
contests were probably 
fought by a cross breed 
of mastiffs and Irish 
wolfhounds ; very cer- 
tainly they did not 
resemble the modern 
mastiff. The latter 
now stands from 
twenty-five to twenty- 
eight inches high from 
ground to shoulder, and 
has a weight of one hundred 
to two hundred pounds. The 
muzzle and ears are black, and the 
dog himself is the color of a roe 
buck or deer. Sometimes, also 




Champion Bulldog 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



the whole body is of a much darker 
shade. 

The bulldog. The bulldog, smaller 
than the mastiff, is related to him and 
to his combative ancestors. These 
dogs seem much more furious than 
they really are. To what caprices have 
they not been subjected in view of ex- 
hibitions ! At one time breeders even 
went so far that little was wanting to 
make their bodies and paws so eccen- 
tric in form that they could hardly 
drag themselves about. Happily, in 
the present day, this danger is averted, 
to the great joy of all true sportsmen, 
and the bulldog now stands on his own 
four paws. It is doubtful, however, 
whether the prize winners of to-da)^ 
would issue triumphantly from the 
arena after such bullfights as those 
in which the seventeenth-century 
mastiffs took such a prominent part. 
Henri II, Queen Mary, and Princess 
Elizabeth of England encouraged 
those combats, but in 1689 we find 
them forbidden at Amsterdam, dogs 
trained for such fights being called 
" bear biters," a name still to be heard 
on the banks of the Amstel. The bull- 
dog should be small, massive, and 
rather thickset, especially 
about the head ; the muzzle 
should be thrust forward 
and raised impudently, 
the under jaw ad- 
vanced beyond the 
upper, the lips hang- 
ing heavily on each 
side of the chops, the 
nose broad, and the 
teeth large and often 
visible, — all of which 
contribute to his ungra- 
cious appearance. The 
color is rather variable. A 
bulldog may be brindled with 
black, or may be all white, spotted 
with white, red-brown, tawny 



THE DOG 



17 



yellow, or tawny red, but 
never all black. Each color 
should be clear!)- defined 
and distinct. 

The black and tan terrier 
and Iiis ivhitc colleague. This 
race brings us back to the 
land (if the terrier. They 
are small, refined, black and 
brown animals, which, by 
their slim bodies, resemble 
greyhounds and harriers. 
They have lost their terrier 
instincts, and their talents 
are more admired in a 
drawing-room than out of 
doors. Careful breeding has transformed 
this race, which is of ver\' ancient English 
origin, into a neat and elegant pet dog. 
They are often called Manchester terriers. 
The cut of the ears is of great importance 
in all of these dogs that are exhibited, and 
they are thus dependent on fashion. The 
brown or tan color should be visible on the 
jaws, under the throat, above the eyes, on 
the cheeks, on the inside of the hind paws, 
under the tail, and on the front paws up 
to the first joint. The legs should be 
black. There is, as we perceive, a whole 
series of colors, but the dog himself takes 
his name from his particular colors. The 
English terrier is all white, and was pro- 
duced by numberless crossings of the black 
and tan terriers with small hounds. 




Si'OTTEU BCLLI)0(; 
I'licito J. I'. Newman, Berkliampste 



Pointers and setters. 
These animals by nature and 
training are sporting dogs. 
They form part of a group 
of dogs which, when the)' 
percei\e their feathered or 
their fiu-ry game, stop short, 
and by their fixed attitude 
indicate to the sportsman 
the direction of that game. 
Probably we must seek the 
explanation of this act, which 
astonishes all who behold it, 
in the innate habit of all 
dogs which hunt their prey 
of waiting a brief moment 





Bl.ACK .W'll T.\N Tl'.RRiri! 



before leaping forward to seize it. 
But our present hunting dogs are 
trained, from father to son, merelv to 
find and inilicate the game, never to 
seize it. The three chief races of .set- 
ters are the Irish, of a beautiful golden 
brown ; the Gordon setter, black and 
tan ; anil the English breed, which is 
white, or white and brown, or white 
and black. These dogs arc necessarily 
very agile in their movements, which 
is shown by their sloping shoulders, 
their long chests, their very mu.scular 
and rather long necks, and also by 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Good TvrK oi- Si.i i i.ic 

their long thighs and vigorous loins. Their 
undulating silky hair does not render them very 
suitable for hunting over a bushy country, but 
in all other respects they are invaluable sport- 
ing dogs. 

The Scotch, or Gordon, setter has a rather 
larger head than other setters, with a larger 
muzzle and longer ears ; he is black, with tan 
markings on the jaws, above the eyes, on the 
paws, and on the articulations. If we can 



believe tradition, a Duke of Gordon obtained 
the breed by a crossing of his dogs with a 
Scotch collie, or sheep dog, which excelled in 
hunting partridges. They have had their epoch 
of fame since 1853, when some fine speci- 
mens of the breed were sent to a bench show. 
They are, and by good right, much in vogue 
as pleasure dogs and companions. 

The Irish setters excel especially in their 
magnificent golden or red-brown color, which 
gives additional charm to their elegant shape. 





Handsomf, Pair of Gordon Setters 



Gi:rman Sii 

They are by nature quick and agile in their 
movements, like the English setter, which, 
however, has rather shorter legs. Their eyes, 
which are hazel brown, have an expression 
of great gentleness. 

Certain Gertuan sporting dogs. The Ger- 
man pointing dogs with smooth coats are 
of quite another kind. They are much 
valued for sporting in their own country 
and elsewhere, — in Holland, for instance, 
— for they are strong constitutionally and 
are not injured by rain or by mud in the 
ditches. They are excellent for partridges 
and hares ; they do not always carry their 
noses in the air, but often follow the trail 
of the game along the soil. Their usefulness 
is considerably increased by their almost 
perfect intelligence and the ease with which 
they can be trained. Much time elapsed, 
however, before their breeding was brought 



THE DOG 



19 



to the point now reached. Opinions and tastes 
have long differed regarding a desirable size of 
these dogs, their crossing with English pointers 
and even with spaniels, and also regarding the 
qualities, more or less good, of the different 
breeds. 

Rut the final product, the German smooth- 
haired sporting dog, is a success and an hon(jr 
to his breeders. The height of the shoulder 
ought to be from twenty to twenty-five inches, 
and the weight may vary from fift_\-five to 
seventy pounds. The color is brown, or white, 
spotted or specked with brown, and now and 
then black and white. The long-haired dog of 
the same kind differs very little from the short- 
er smooth-haired animal, except that the chest 
is slightly narrower and the feet rather longer. 

The wiry-haired pointing dog may be re- 
garded as belonging to an international breed, 
though Germany has spared neither trouble 
nor expense to make of them a special race. 





E. K. Korthals, the Dutch breeder, has applied 
himself in a very meritorious manner to cross- 
ing all German sporting dogs with the indige- 
nous, wiry-haired dogs of the Low 
Countries, Belgium, and France. 
The results, known in F" ranee under 
the name of griffons, were not at 
first accepted by German sportsmen, 
and a long debate arose on the name 
that should be given to the animal. 
To-day, thanks especially to the 
broad-mindedness of the German 
"Club Griffon," these dogs have 
passed through their difficult period 
and are now animals of recognized 
usefulness, which is the essential 
thing. The head, large and long, 
has rough, wiry hair, and shows a 
mustache and eyebrows fitted to in- 
spire respect, in spite of their great 
eyes which express much intelligence 
and win all sympathies at first sight. 
Their iron-gray or gray-brown color, 
and their hair, which feels to the 
touch like iron wire, give to these 
dogs a certain resisting quality which 
we seldom find to the same degree 
in other breeds. 

Some much more ancient races 
of German dogs, such as the brach 



20 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




GERirAx Loxg-Haired Huxtixg Dog 

hound, raised chiefly in the north and northwest 
of Germany, ought to be considered more as 
beaters of game, or coursers. Hunting having 
been much changed and modified in the lapse 
of ages, these dogs are to-day in the background 
of the large race we are now considering. 

Pet dogs. " Have women no children that 
they caress those beasts ? " asked a Roman 
emperor, on observing the excessive care 
given by women to little 
dogs ; whence we may 
conclude that the habit of 
having pet dogs is as old 
as civilization, perhaps 
older. Ladies especially, 
in all lands, had such 
dogs, and it is not sur- 
prising that those who 
had the time petted and 
spoiled the little beasts, 
which slept not only in 
the laps of their mis- 
tresses but even in their 



beds. All this could not fail to injure the favorite 
races. They became sickl}', capricious, feeble, 
and melancholy. Some little amelioration of 
their state came about when King Charles I 
conceived an affection for small black and 





Children of Charles I (Van Dvck') 



Blenheim Spaniel 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

brown spaniels, and the court, as well as all the 
nobility, followed his princely example. The 
great artist Van Dyck painted them on his 
canvas, and other painters took good care to 
place one beside the great personages who 
patronized them. 

The King Charles spaniel still exists, and 
was soon followed by the Prince Charles and 
the Blenheim spaniels. These three species 
differ chiefly in color. The first is black and 
tan, with no white on him ; the second should 
be white, with black and brown markings ; the 
third, named Blenheim, from the residence and 
famous victory of the 
Duke of Marlborough, 
is reddish, with white 
spots. A fourth species, 
the ruby spaniel, wholly 
red, completes the quar- 
tet of this pretty little 
tribe whose apple-shaped 
heads, short snub noses, 
and whole body structure 
plainly indicate innu- 
merable crossings. The 
spaniels of to-day are cer- 
tainly agreeable pleasure 



THE DOG 



21 



dogs, little pages of the 
boudoir, and graceful 
ornaments among the 
furniture. One thing, 
hi)\ve\'er, is to be regret- 
ted : the)' are all mclan 
choly, especiall)- tlio 
King Charles spaniel, 
who is, they say, still 
grieving for the death of 
Charles I. 

We must also place 
among the pet (or petty ?) 
dogs the pug, who rivals 
the four spaniels in his 
apple-shaped skull. Did 
the pug originate in 
France or the L o w 
Countries.'' Scientists j 

are not agreed as to this, 

but the pug has seen his bad days at the begin- 
ning of the nineteenth century, when the race 
became almost e.xtinct. He came nut of them, 
however, to his advantage, and 
now sticks his tongue out at all 
who make fun of him. Besides 
this curious trick of his tongue, 
his tail, rolled up as tightly as 
possible, sways to left or right 
above the hip, and is worthy 
of attention. The typical ex- 
pression of his face betrays at 
once a liking for sociabilit}' 
and also extreme curiosity. 
Whether a pug be yellow or 
apricot color, the black line on 
his back must be clearly visible, 
and his black ears and mask 
must make sharp contrast to 
his body. Pugs have a general 
air of high livers, thanks to 
their chunky bodies and their 
rolls of flesh ; yet they are not 
gluttons. 

It is told of a certain pug 
that he caused the total con- 
version of his mistress (who 
was very niiscrlv, and not 



charitable in s])ite of 
great wcallli) by dis- 
covering a burglar and 
his kit of tools under 
her bed, and barking till 
he brought the house- 
hold. He had saved his 
mistress and her monev, 
and out of gratitude tiie 
lady was converted and 
the poor were not long 
in feeling it. 

Pets are also made of 
ttle Maltese dogs with 
ing silky hair, York- 
shire terriers, and dwarf 
terriers ; but a detailed 
description of all the 

f. varieties that might be 

mentioned would require 

pages upon pages, and there are still many 

families barking imiialicntly at our gates 

awaiting their turn for notice. 





22 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Coursing dogs. These dogs are employed 
for venery, that is to say, for hunting with a 
well-trained pack of large, strong, agile dogs, 
bred and kept exclusively for this purpose in 
France and England, and in some parts of the 




KixG Charles 

United States and Canada. English foxhounds 
are known the world over, if only by the nu- 
merous engravings representing huntsmen in 
scarlet coats surrounded by their dogs, spotted 
white and brown and black, or flying over the 
hillsides through bushes 
and bracken. Hunt 
ing of this kind 
was fre 
quent, 



packs are very celebrated, and several belong 
to more than one person. A master of the 
hounds, aided by a huntsman and several 
" whippers-in," or, in other words, servants or 
trainers, has the supervision of them. The cost 
of this amusement is enormous, averaging not 
less than from seventeen to twenty thousand 
dollars a year. 

As the chief qualities of the foxhound should 
be speed and perseverance, his paws must be 
strong, his back solid, his loins broad and mus- 
cular, his chest ample for the lungs, and the 
soles of his feet hard. The legs should be per- 
fectly straight, the neck slim, and the shoulders 
held close to the body. The nostrils will nat- 
urally be large, because these dogs guide them- 
selves by scent as well as by sight. When the 
wind is favorable and they have scented the fox 
they run forward, barking violently, but when 
they approach the game they increase their 
speed, bark no longer, rush against and over 
each other and over all obstacles with such 
eagerness that their mad course can be followed 
only by the best horsemen. 

In France the various 

cies of hunting 

ogs are very 

u m e r- 

o u s. 




even m 
the Middle 
Ages, but then 
they hunted with grey- 
hounds and terriers, prop- 
erly so called ; little by 
little, however, the agile 

foxhound, the pride of more than one master, 
took their place. Dogs of this class are formed 
into packs of from ten to sixty couple. Some 



English Foxhounds before their Kennel 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

Th 



from 
ery early 
times the kings 
of France paid much 
attention to the breed- 
ing of hounds and kept 
a great number of packs, 
descendants of these dogs still remain 
in certain provinces, and among them may be 
found the products of various crossings. 



THE DOG 



23 




English Foxhounds 

Photo J. T. Newman. Berkliampstead 



They are named for the regions in which they 
are found, — dogs of Gascony, Bordeaux, Nor- 
mandy, and Saintonge ; others might be added, 
such, for instance, as the dog of Bresse, with 
long hair, and the breeds called royal, such as 
the dog of St. Hubert, yellow and gray, once 



belonging to St. Louis in 1226-1270; and 
some other species. With his great "white 
pack " Louis XIV hunted a stag on one occasion 
for twenty miles ; the dauphin killed a wolf on 
June 18, 16S5, after a chase of eight hours in 
excessive heat. A pack of staghounds was 




24 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



composed of 260 dogs, and the attendants of 
the hunt numbered in all 491. At the begin- 
ning of the next century the pace became 
slower, for the king was obliged to follow the 
hunt in a carriage ; dogs were 
then trained to run slower, which 
compelled the breeders after a 
time to resort to crossings with 
English mongrels. Since then 
the breed of French hunting 
dogs has been scattered among 
all sorts of secondary species, of 
which at least a dozen now exist. 
The professor dog. He who 
has always been a professor in 
the society of dogs is, undoubt- 
edly, the poodle ; and if ever dogs 
attain unto speech, the poodle 
will be the first to inform us. It 
remains to be seen whether a new 
language (and that a dog lan- 
guage) is desirable ; or whether 
a certain French judge was not 
right when he told some friends that he always 
played an hour with his dogs after a long court 
session, " because," he said, " I had listened 




White 




Black Poodle 



to so many dull and prolix speakers that I 
needed to rest myself with intelligent animals 
who did not speak." 



The poodle is a very docile animal, much in de- 
mand therefore by Punch and Judy and acrobats. 
It was a poodle who posted himself with 
muddy feet at the corner of a certain street in 
Paris, and stepped upon the pol- 
ished boots of the passers, where- 
upon his master, producing his 
blacking box asked, " Shall I 
clean them, sir.?" It was like- 
wise a poodle who fetched four 
rolls daily from the baker. One 
day, however, he returned with 
only three, although the baker 
had certainly put four into the 
basket. The next day and the 
third day the same thing hap- 
pened ; the poodle brought back 
only three rolls. He was then 
watched, and was seen to turn 
into a side street and stop before 
a stable. In that stable was a 
mother dog with puppies a few 
Poodle days old. The poodle carefully 

took out jDne of the rolls and laid it before 
her; then he galloped home hurriedly with 
the other three. 

If the poodle could talk, — that is, zvheji 
he does talk, — we shall find out how and why 
the mind of his particular race is so devel- 
oped ; so far we are ignorant on the subject. 
Poodles were formerly true water span- 
iels, and they can still swim very well. 
They are, probably, distantly related to 
the long-haired watchdogs of the steppes. 
Their hair is curled or crimped ; a variety, 
lately introduced, has long hair hanging in 
locks about the face. The poodle always 
walks with measured steps, as if he were 
returning from his dancing lesson. Black, 
white, or brown, without any mixture of 
shades, are the colors demanded by the 
fanciers of this animal ; the nose, however, 
must be black, the tail never curled, the 
lips black, the back strong, short, and 
slightly sloping. He is in all respects a 
domestic animal and a faithful guide, and is 
hardened to a northern climate ; he never yaps 
and is never turbulent. 



THE DOG 



25 



The Neicfoundlands. Rarely has the repro- 
duction of a picture been so generally and so 
easily (in the matter of price) brought within 
the reach of all as in the case of the well-known 
painting by Sir Edwin Landseer, representing 
a black and white Newfoundland, under the title 
of "A Distinguished Member of the Humane 
Society." It is a pity, however, that Land 
seer neglected to give the dog his original 
color — black, without admixture of 
any kind ; for though the inhabitants 
of Newfoundland have never taken 
any pains with their dogs, the 
black, or occasionally a bn)wn 
ish black, remains the domi- 
nant color, and Landseer 
made his dog black and 
white solely for pictorial 
effect. It did, however, 
set a fashion, and breed- 
ers consequently put upon the market, as soon 
as possible, a black and white variet\', which 
has now as much right to existence as the 
wholly black species. 

The Newfoundland is an admirable swimmer, 
being able to swim for an hour without resting. 
He literally lives in the water and has often ren- 
dered great service in saving lives. Examples 
of this are ahnnsl innimierablc, and dh all 

linear "" 




as many as formerly. Their height is at present 
from twenty-four to twenty-six inches (though 
on the island of Newfoundland they are nearly 
always smaller), and that, perhaps, makes them 
inconvenient and clumsy about the house. In 
England, however, they breed them to a still 
reater height. So long as children's nurses 
ire not superseded by Newfoundlands in 
duties for which the latter are well fitted, 
this race is better suited to the coun- 
tr_\' than to cities. No better watch- 
logs could be found, and no one is 
in danger of drowning as long as 
a Newfoundland is on the place. 
They are very observant of 
domestic matters and of 
the habits of a household, 
as the following instance 
shows. A Newfoundland 
was accustomed to go out 
at a certain hour with his master, who had taught 
him to fetch his cane. One day it rained so 
heavily that there was no question of going 
out. The dog brought the cane as usual, and 
seemed puzzled and distressed at being sent 
away. He left the room, however, and pres- 
ently returned, bringing an umbrella ! 

The paws of a Newfoundland serve him as 
"ais ; i1h'\- ought to be straight and slim tliduuh 




I.)AM)M'; DlNMONl 'ri.KKli;K 



Sk\ !■. 'I'lUKII K 



sides the race is lauded as very intelligent, and strongly muscled. The toes are united i)\- 

extremely faithful and gentle, especially with skin, or webbing, which must be regarded as a 

children. Byron wrote a touching poem on his help in swimming. The tail should be carried 

Newfoundland, and so have many others; yet, straight. The head is large and Hat, and the 

strange to say, the taste for these dogs is weight required for bench shows is from one 

diminishing by degrees, and we no longer see hundred to one hundred and thirty pounds. 



26 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Bull Terrier 

The bull terrier and the Scotch terrier. The 
great family of terriers counts many other 
breeds besides those we have already 
named. We now come to the 
bull terriers, the Scotch 
Skye, and Dandie Din 
mont terriers. The 
bull terrier, as his 
name indicates, 
comes from the 
crossing of bull- 
dogs with terriers. 
A strong and agile 
race was desired, 
and agile the bull- 
dog was not. 

In 1852 a breed 
of English terriers 
of unusual height 
seems to have at- 
tracted the atten- 
tion of all breeders 
on the continent of 
Europe ; and when 
combats between 
bulldogs and other 
animals were 
gradually forbid- 
den, an effort was 
made to turn the 
race into a safe 
domestic dog. Her Favorite was 

Bench shows Photo J. T. Newmi 




assisted the purpose, and now this lithe 
and slim white dog, called a bull terrier, 
with his strong constitution, is an orna- 
ment to the tribe. His native strength is 
still shown by his solid shoulders, his power- 
ful hind quarters, his supple body, and his 
muscular paws. No other trace of the bull- 
dog is in him, unless it may be a species 
of enlargement around the eyes and jaws, 
which is only shown in a few individuals 
about their third year. This race is a proof 
of the excellence of English breeders, for 
while it gains from the terrier more intelli- 
gence than from the bulldog, it has kept all 
the strength of the latter. 
Very different is the Scotch terrier. Small 
in body, clever and shrewd, with his rough 
or black hair and his long body, 
is not at all vulgar in air or 
manner. The late Queen 
Victoria had a Scotch 
terrier named Caer- 
nach , who a c c o m- 
panied her on all her 
journeys. Giving 
orders that the ship 
of war Lightning 
should escort the 
royal yacht, the 
Queen wrote," The 
Ligh tiling will 
carry the eighth 
battalion and our 
footman, Ben da, 
with our terrier 
Caernach." 

The Skye terrier 
is also a Scotch 
race, and, like all 
animals living in 
northern climates, 
he is provided with 
a heavy coat. His 
body is long and 
his legs short, so 
that his hair, which 
A Scotch Terrier hangs straight 

in, Berkhampstead down On both sidcS, 



THE DOG 



27 



often touches the ground. This hair, which is 
rough and bristhng, is sometimes five and one- 
half inches long. The hair of the head is shorter 
and softer than that of the body. There are 
.Skycs with erect ears and Skyes with pendent 



old race of bulldogs found in England, and 
which also existed in Germany in times gone 
by. They were used as butchers' dogs, to 
guard and drive cattle, and also as watchdogs. 
The old engravings of Ridinger give a good 




A Fi;w Prize Boxkrs 



ears. Their color varies from a dark blue gray 
to a tawny gray with black points. 

The Dandie Dinmont terrier completes the 
Scotch trio. His name is well known to those 
who are familiar with the novels of Walter 
Scott. If an_\- one, by chance, has forgotten 
him, he ma)- open Gaj Maitncriiif^ and turn 
to the energetic character of farmer Dinmont. 
It is said that Scott reproduced in him a cer- 
tain Davidson of Hindlee, who had some little 
pepper-and-salt dogs, two of which, named Pep- 
per and Mustard, were the progenitors of the 
Dandie Dinmont breed. The present weight 
of these terriers should be about si.xteen or 
eighteen pounds. The long hair of the animal 
ought to have certain characteristics ; there 
should be a mixture of soft hair and stiff hair, 
but neither should be wiry nor silky. It is not 
quite so long as in other Scotch terriers and 
is rather shiny on the head. They are lithe 
dogs, solidly built, low on the front legs, the 
tail rather thick, being wide at the roots and 
tapering to a point. 

The boxers. We can study bo.xers in the 
Old World without having anything to do with 
the Chinese. By bo.xers is meant a collection 
of dogs which differ very much in form and 
color, but yet are very closely related to an 



idea of them. Here and there in the north 
of Germany and also in Wurttemberg there 
still exist traces of this original species, which 
is far from handsome. Lately much serious 
attention has been gi\'en to this race of dogs, 
and the result is the boxer, called also the 
Boston terrier, although he is not related to 
our own American breed of the same name. 




Skve Tkukif.r with I.ono 1:.\i<s 
I'hotci J. T. Newman. lierkluiiipstj.id 

The exhibition of types of boxers obtained by" 
careful breeding has caused much improve- 
ment in the unity of the race. Very fine speci- 
mens were seen in the bench shows of last 



28 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




year, especially in 
Holland, the Dutch 
breeders even carry- 
ing off the first prizes 
in Germany. We 
may now consider 
the boxer as a good 
dog which shows no 
peculiarity of shape, 
but takes his place 
between the bulldog 
and the bull terrier. 
The Waldviann or 
Daclishimd. In Ger- 
many they give this 
dog the sylvan name 
of Waldmann (forest 
man), but he is by no 
means exclusively a 
forest dog. He is, 
Waldmann however, inseparable 

from the German 
hunter or forester, and as these men spend their 
lives in the woods and mountains their dog re- 
ceives the name of forest or mountain dog. The 
shape of this German basset is almost weird. 
He is low on his paws, with a very long body, 
and, seen from in front, his legs appear so con- 
torted that, it were well he had never 
been born. Seen on the right 
the left, the legs of a good 
German basset are strai^ 
from the body. The head 
is long and narrow, the 
ears hang down the whole 
length of the head, and 
the body is also long, but 
has no saddle, a form 
which, if present, betrays 
weakness. The tail should 
be as slim as possible and 
should not turn up upon the 
back. In color some are black, 
brown-black, red-brown, light brown, 
mouse color, or white spotted. The German 

white and mouse-colored varieties 
are very rare. We shall see the German bassets 
at work when we come to ferreting out foxes 




and badgers, and we can then admire their 
vivacity, their courage, and their slyness. 

TJie beagle. Among the small hunting dogs 
that are employed, sometimes in packs and some- 
times singly, to ferret out, chase, and catch, if 
possible, small game, we find the beagle, a very 
ancient race, well known in 1614. It is said 
that his English name of " beagle " comes from 
the old French word bugle (the ajiiga reptaits, 
a woodland plant). Like the French bassets, 
they give voice, when the passion of the chase 
seizes them, to a peculiarly sonorous note. The 
beagle is a popular breed in many parts of 
America and is commonly used in hunting 
rabbits and such game. 

The French basset, very wrongfully con- 
founded sometimes with the German basset, 
makes part, together with the beagles, of what 
is called in France the " minor hunting estab- 
lishment," to distinguish them from the races 
of large hunting dogs which make up what is 
called the " great establishment." The two spe- 
cies may be regarded as dwarf varieties of the 
larger dogs. For a pleasure dog the basset, 
as he is bred in France (and not as he is 
badly bred in America), is a charming domes- 
tic dog, excellent for his sociability and for his 
extraordinary patience with children. The most 
esteemed are three-colored, white, 
brown, and black, the different 
patches of which are gracefully 
distributed over the body. 
A young basset ought not 
to be more than a dozen 
inches in height, meas- 
ured from the shoulder. 
There are two varieties 
of hair, smooth and 
rough. It is very curious 
to watch the waddling gait 
of his plump body on its big 
short legs, of which the front 
ones, not more than four inches 
ong, are sunk in at the knees and 
Basset then bent outward, like those of a 
turnspit. The head has a well- 
developed bump at the back, called the hunt- 
ing bump, round which the plump flesh forms 



THE DOG 



29 



numerous folds. Long ears, some- 
times touching the ground wlien the 
dog is following a scent, complete one 
of the most original of the canine race. 

Besides these three small species 
hunting is still done with little span- 
iels, among which are the }-ellow 
clumbers, the Sussex browns, the 
fields, black or \-ariegated, and the 
cocker spaniels, also black or striped. 
All these dogs, trained to bring back 
the game, have long, low bodies and 
are very active and easily trained to 
their work. The weight of a good 
cocker spaniel should never exceed 
twenty-five pounds. 

Water spaniels have frizzled, close- 
curled hair. There are two species — 
the Irish, which is brown, and the 
English, which is black, brown, or pie- 
bald, both being excellent and very 
active hunters. A taste for hunting 
seems inborn in them ; they are 
scarcely out in the open country be- 
fore they forget everything except their train- 
ing. It is not surprising, therefore, that a 
cocker spaniel on one occasion showed his 
contempt for a bad sportsman. His master 
had lent him for some days to a friend, and 
Banker (that was the dog's name) started at 
once to search the fields with the greatest 
zeal. He had already scented a covey of par- 
tridges and caused them to take wing, but 
the sportsman missed his shot, to the great 





Beagles 

Photo J. T. Newman, ISerkhampstead 



FuF.N'tll I?.-\SSF.T 

amazement of the dog. The latter repeated 
his duty three times, the sportsman proving 
equally inexpert. This angered the dog. He 
stopped his work, appeared to reflect, walked 
back to the sportsman and three times round 
him ; then he raised his paw, laid it on the 
man's boot, turned away, and went straight 
back to his own home. And )-et people say 
that dogs have no minds ! 

TIte Genua n zvalc/uiog. In judging of the 
beauty of a breed we often run 
up against the impossibility (in 
this and in other cases) of giving 
a clear definition, applicable in 
all cases, of the idea of beauty, 
and the dog which shows in his 
exterior neither monotony nor 
excess in any particular is apt 
to carry the day. The German 
watchdog is such a one, and he 
unites his good qualities in ex- 
cellent proportion. Strength, 
elegance, a slim neck, the head 
high, the movements rapid but 



30 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



^^^■HHPI^ 


^ 




m 


H^B't^ <i^I1l2^^^^^^^K& ^^^H^^H 




BBg^Mj^^^^H^^^^/O^V^^H 





Cocker Spaniel 

dignified, a frank, open glance, penetrating but 
inspiring confidence — such are the gener- 
ally recognized quahties of this race, and 
by them they have won both esteem and 
admiration. The early dogs of this species 
came of a crossing between the English 
mastiff and the Irish hound and were then 
large and savage. At the beginning of the 
sixteenth century they were imported to 
Germany for hunting the wild boar, and 
when that sport ceased, or fell off in popu- 
larity, the breeding and taming of the race 
for pleasure dogs and watchdogs continued, 
and they then received the names of Ulm 
dogs and Danish dogs. These two names, 
which are still frequently met with, are now 
given erroneously. It is possible that the 
Danish dog has been crossed from time to 
time with the dog of south Germany or 
Wurttemberg ; but the German dog of our 
day is a German dog, and the name of 
Great Dane, given in France, England, and 
America, is incorrect. 



The variety of color in dogs of this race con- 
tributes to increasing their friends and admirers. 
Some are brindled (black lines on a yellow or 
orange ground), and some are uniformly yellow 
or mouse color, although these are becoming 
rare. Others are spotted black and white, or 
are uniformly black. The ears, being cut at a 
very early age, give the animal a better appear- 
ance and save him from injury to their lobes. 
It is an error to represent these dogs as false. 
Of course there may be specimens in this race, 
as in all others, that will not endure being 
played with, but they are not treacherous. On 
the contrary, they are good and faithful guard- 
ians of the house and of children, and though 





lii.ACKi'iELij Spaniel 



they are strong enough to be recalcitrant, they 
remain calm and dignified in critical moments, 
and are always responsive to the call of their 
master or mistress. Their tail is their weak 
point in two respects. First, they often break 
the end of it in their joy, and the harm is 
difficult to repair; and secondly, the modern 
system of breeding for bench shows requires 
that the tail of this German dog shall never be 
raised higher than the level of his back, even 
in moments of agitation ; and that is a very 
difficult thing to compass, even in a dog with 



THE DOG 



31 




GrKMAX Hol'M) WITH IIKK VoUNC AND A DuTCH ShkKP DoC, IIKR Ki,NN!:1. C()MMAMf)N 



a sad disposition, when nature has given his 
tail an upward turn. 

Dogs ivitli pointed nuizzlcs. The dogs with 
pointed muzzles formed for centuries a race 
apart in the north of Europe ; and, strange to 
say, they have undergone but little change 
to this day. The Eskimo, Lapp, Finnish, 
and Iceland dogs, together with the Pom- 
eranians, all have the same protecting long 
hair and pointed nose. The Pomeranians, 
which may be white, black, or iron-gray, 
and which vary considerably in size here 
and there, far excel all the other breeds of 
their race by their vigilance and their sharp 
barking. Very intelligent, quite int|uisiti\c, 
and rather distrustful, they utter a cry of 
alarm on the slightest occasion. Dogs com- 
peting at bench shows must have their ears 
erect, their color clear and decided, their 
tails laid up over their backs, and their legs 
straight. The hair should be long, straight, 
and silky, and form a mane around the 
neck. The animal should not weigh more 
than twenty-two pounds. 

The Belgian schipperke, which belongs to 
this race, is very small and is much in demand 
for its typical exterior. The braxx- little fellow, 
who is all black and \-ai)s more than he harks. 



has some talent for sport and is a great lover 
of horses. He attracts attention by his \ery 
pointed head and sharp nose, his thick black 
hair with its ruff, and the total absence of any-" 
thing resembling a tail. Our space does not 




permit us to inquire if that absence is the result 
of artificial breeding, oi' is a transmission of 
inheritance. A good sihippeike ought not to 



32 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



this we must add that beating for game 
has become so much the fashion that the 
pointer is less in demand. 

It is said that he was frequently crossed 
in former times with the bulldog and the 
greyhound. "When the race was sufficiently 
improved magnificent breeds were obtained ; 
am.ong which may be mentioned the white 
and brown pointers of Garth, Bentinek, 
Arkwright, and Price, and the yellow and 
white dogs of Whitehouse, Brierly, and 
Salter. It may be said of the modern 
pointer that he has but one defect, — his 
weak constitution. He is a model of beauty. 
A magnificent gallop, rapid motions, an im- 
posing air, and an expressive, undulating 
Spotted Germ.ax Watchdog ^ ., , . • ^- r ^i • ui j 

tail are characteristics of this noble dog. 

weigh more than twelve pounds if he belongs His every muscle performs its function when 




to the small kind, or more 
than twenty pounds if he be- 
longs to the large kind. 

Pointers and retrieve7-s. 
The very noble English sport- 
ing dog, called a pointer, who 
owes his name and universal 
reputation to his excellent 
manner of pointing out the 
game, originated probably in 
Spain. The modern pointer, 
bred and improved with the 
utmost care (though subjected 




Black Wolf Dog 



he is at work, and he gives him- 
self body and soul to the task 
confided to him. The sports- 
man often goes out with a pair 
of pointers who, as they seek, 
approach each other obliquely. 
When one dog finds game the 
other respects hira by stand- 
ing still, which evidently re- 
quires severe training. 

Pointers for exhibition must 
have broad chests of good 
depth, between two legs as 



now and then to the caprices of sport and straight as the barrels of a gun. The feet 
fashion), differs in the present day from his 
Spanish ancestors and is an honor to Eng- 
lish breeding. He is exclusively employed 
by English and American sportsmen to 
discover and point out the game ; and his 
wonderful Jlair (perception) transmitted 
from generation to generation, his admir- 
able immobility from the moment he scents 
the game, and the willingness with which 
he lends himself to training cannot be too 
much praised. The pointer seeks eagerly 
with rapid steps ; but the game of late 
years growing more and more wild, he is 
less used now than formerly. The grouse, 
especially, no longer finding as much shel- 
ter in the fields, fly more hurriedly. To 




THE DOG 



33 



should be round and very com- 
jjacl. The shoulders and also 
the back must slope towards 
the short and pointed tail, 
whereas the hind quarters must 
be robust and muscular. The 
head should be broad between 
■the ears and the muzzle loni,'. 
The color of the body is white 
and li\er colored, or lemon-yel- 
low and white, or white fleckeil 
with black. But the essential 
thing is a respectable geneal- 
ogy, which all competing dogs 
of renown possess. 

With the pointer we may 
name the retriever, an English 
race of which two varieties 
exist, — the long haired and 
the frizzled or crinkled haired. 
Thev have in them the blood 





1 '> 1 . L( , I A >; S( ■ 1 u ri' I". K K r.N s 

of the setter and the Newfountlland. The friz- 
zled retriever shows traces of the blood of the 
water spaniel. His hair is black, and the head 
is long, with strong jaws by which to carry 
heavy game. His business is to recover, or " re- 
trieve," the game that the sportsman has shot. 
T/ee Bntsscls griffon. This is a very pretty 
dog and much in demand. He became known 
to fanciers about forty years ago, and he made 
his first appearance on exhibition at Brussels in 
i88o. The specimens then e.xhibited were sold 
in England, but their descendants remained in 



Prize Dog 

Brussels, and the race is now carcfulh' 
kept up, thanks to the Club of Brussels 
Griffons, founded in 1889. They may 
be regarded as a dw-arf form of the 
rattler (pinchers). They are intelligent 
dogs and very lively, and their eyes 
have an almost human expression. The 
apple-shaped head is covered with stiff 
hair, which is longer about the eyes and 
jaws than elsewhere. The black eyelids 
bring out the brilliancy of the eyes. The 
lips ought ahvavs to be black, while 
the rest of the biid\- is reddish brown; 




34 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




SUPKRH CoLLECTRl.N 



the nose is brown, the eyes Hght, the crest of 
the head silky, and all white spots are consid- 
ered blemishes. The tail is carried very high. 
If the Brussels griffon belongs to the smaller 
species, he should weigh about five pounds ; 
if not, the maximum weight is ten pounds. 



The late Queen Draga of 
Servia owned one of these dogs, 
which saved her life, unfortu- 
nately only for a short time. 
A plot to poison her had been 
suspected and her griffon was 
made to taste all the dishes 
that were served to her ; the 
animal died and the cook who 
had prepared the dinner de- 
stroyed himself. 

The shepherd dog. One might 
write a whole volume on these 
interesting animals. The type 
is uniformly spread throughout 
Europe and America, though 
here and there it differs a little 
in size, coat, and form of head, 
thanks to breeding, chance, or 
the influence of climate. The 
original bobtailed woolly dog of the English 
shepherd has become a race that is now con- 
stantly bred. He attracts immediate atten- 
tion by Tiis restless movements and his rich 
fleece of yellow tinted with steel-blue or gray. 
The pendent ears, lying close to the head, do 




KiiXN'KL OF Pointers coxtaixing the Best Continental Tvpes 



THE DOG 



35 



not give the idea of the attention we should 
naturally expect of the guardian of a flock of 
sheep in the open country. The Scotch collie 
having become by breeding a very charming 
pleasure dog, with thick, glossy hair (the colors 
of which are well marked), pointed head, and 
ears partly erect and restless in motion, has 
lost much of the primitive type, though in 
Germany breeders are never wear)- of laudable 
efforts to bring him back to the collecting and 
driving of sheep. Thus the German, Dutch, 
and Belgian shepherd dogs show by their 
rougher exterior and eager, intrepid tempera- 
ment, which is worthy of all confidence, much 
of the primitive animal. 

Nevertheless, the collie, now very popular 
as a pleasure dog, carries the day in popular 
estimation, and enormous sums are paid in 
both this and other countries ft)r successful 




Gi.ossv-HAiRi-.n 

Photo J. T. NLwman, 



Retriever 
Berkhanipstead 



Take him out for a walk and he will circle 
continually round and round his master. His 
natural disposition is frank, and never treach- 




Dcnii Shei'herd Dogs 



prize winners. The good shepherd dog, no erous ; but he does not understand a joke, and 
matter what his breeding has been, seldom is always ready to use his sharp teeth in de- 
loses his innate characteristic of vigilance, fense of the person or things that have been 

intrusted to him. 

The French shepherd dog, which 
is either black or lirown, namely, the 
Beauce dog or the smaller race of 
Brie, has been raised of late with 
much care. The first species was 
formerly used for gathering truflfles. 
The Brie dogs usually have their tails 
shortened. The Italian, or Bergamo, 
brood, which is large, with long 
hair, and lie Russian dog (seen only 
recently at bench shows) have not 
as yet attracted general attention : 




36 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Wagon Load of Puppies 

neither has the dog of the Pyrenees, which is 
better fitted for guarding and protecting great 
flocks of sheep or herds of cattle than for ac- 
companying and helping the shepherd. 

Terriers, — Dutch, German, and English. 
From a scientific point of view we ought to 
have ranked with the terriers we have already 
considered at a bird's-eye view the Dutch dog, 
the Smousje, the German pincher, and the 
Airesdale terrier. The curly-haired Smousje, 
with a roguish head and a comically serious 
eye that go very well with his rather rotund 
body, has legs and loins that reveal to a con- 
noisseur eagerness and perseverance in long 
runs. In Holland too little is being done to 
improve and preserve this breed, which is 
almost unknown to foreigners. It is otherwise 
with his larger congener, the German pincher, 
familiar to all stables ; he iz a faithful guide 
and well fitted for a calm, attentive, domestic 
dog. Though he has never been used for sport- 
ing, he never stays at home when there 
is the slightest chance of pursu- 
ing, catching, and "pinching 
a rat ; hence his name. His 
agility in killing those small 
rodents has won him in Eng- 
land the name of "rattler." 

The hair of the pinchers is 
a brain puzzle for all breeders. 
For bench shows it should be 
as wiry and thick as possible, but 
not long, and, above all, it should 
be evenly distributed over the body. 
A short mustache and thick, bushy 



color may be yellowish red or yellowish gra)-, 
but it must be uniform, and white is a positive 
blemish. The dwarf pincher with wiry hair is 
the same as the pincher with glossy hair, the 
latter being only a chance variety obtained 
by artificial breeding, The monkey pincher 





Old English Shepherd 
Dog (Bobtail) 



English Shepherd Dog (Collie) 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

is a dwarf with a round head which looks as 
if its development had been stunted in its youth. 
The pincher Dobermann, of very recent date, 
and coming from a crossing of the German 
pincher with certain shepherd dogs 
belonging to M. Dobermann, is a 
much vaunted dog, relatively 
tall (from twenty-five to 
twenty-six inches) and vigor- 
ously built. Its color is 
beautiful, — a brilliant black, 
reddish brown at the extrem- 
ities, and perhaps a few white 
pecks on the chest. 
The third member of this family 
I the Airesdale terrier, a large 
black and brown dog, with a strong 
constitution, courageous, and well 



eyebrows are much esteemed. The photoj. T.Newman, Berkhampstead fitted to accompany bicycles and 



THE DOG 



carriages. Having a height of 
twenty-one inches, he cannot we 
fulfill the usual function 
English terrier. 

And now, in taking lca\ c 
of terriers, we must con- 
tent ourselves, in conse- 
quence of limited space, 
by merely naming the red- 
brown Irish terrier, who 
possesses excellent domes 
tic qualities, and the Welsli \._? 
terrier, the product of English 
breeding, — a weakened specimen 
of the Airesdale and Irish terriers. 

The Iiound. We shall now end this 
rapid glance cast over the enormous extent of 
the dog kingdom by causing the hounds to pass 




iliose \\ lio desire to know fundamen- 
tally the history of the canine 
races, to take, as their first 
study, the hound, whose type 
ve tind almost unaltered 
both tiuring and preceding 
the Cliristian era. His 
ithe form, his pointed 
head, his strong, lean legs, 
his eyes full; of fire, his 
^mall, delicate ears, and his 
very deep chest show him at 
a glance to be a dog destined 
to run fast, whether we judge by 
epresentations of him made four hun- 
dred years before Christ, by modern 
pictures, or by the living animal. The English 
short-haired hound (the greyhound) and the 




Ci.ioiAx Terrier 

(I'lNCHER) 



KN(;|.IS1I 'rKKIUEK ( Ikl.andais) 



Dutch Ti-kkiek 
(Smousji;) 



at full gallop before us, as is done in military Arabian hound (the slougi) are the most ancient 
reviews. The cclclnal'-'l r:iri; '^l ."^i, Bernards types we possess of the race. The latter, espe- 
cially, imported and acclimated in the Low 




will be treated separate)}-, and tlie blood- 
hounds will elsewhere show us their 
talents as detectives. We advise all 



Scotch Gki.vhoim) 



38 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Countries some years ago by the Dutch painter 
Augusta Le Gras de Blaricum, has a lean, slen- 
der shape, as if sculptured. In England they 
train their best greyhounds to course in the 
great races that take place annually, at which 




Russian Greyhound (Barzoi) Lebedka 

is won, among other prizes, the Waterloo Cup. 
Less important courses are run by whippets, — 
small greyhounds raised here and there among 
the people in view of these races. 

The Scotch hound with wiry hair (the deer- 
hound), which formerly hunted the deer and 
is now found chiefly in the mountain- 
ous parts of Scotland as the pleasure 
dog in the castles of the great land- 
lords, is of very ancient origin and 
closely allied to the Irish wolfhound, 
a large dog with rough hair, coarsely 
built, and with mastiff blood in his 
veins. In Russia, where they still use 
these long-haired hounds in hunting 
wolves, which the dogs pursue in packs 
at full gallop, the animals need and 
have strong jaws and great endurance. 
The Russian wolfhound, properly so 
called, is rather more refined, has wav- 
ing hair, and is bred in Russia under 
the name of Barzoi. In France, Eng- 
land, Germany, Holland, and America he is 
exclusively, a pleasure dog and in very many 
ways is the most graceful representative of his 



race. He has an elegant shape and is extremely 
cautious towards children and furniture, etc. 
A Barzoi might be allowed to step upon a 
table covered with precious china, and not a 
piece would be broken. Very decided in mind 
as to what does not please him, strong 
and courageous when it is a matter 
of defending or protecting his master, 
the Barzoi is an excellent watchdog 
and a safe companion for bicyclists. 
The Dutch fanciers have imported the 
best specimens and are raising dogs 
that are worth their weight in gold. 

The color of the English hound is 
black, brown, fawn, blue-gray, white, 
or spotted. The Scotch hounds with 
rough hair must always be blue-gray, 
light red, or buff, without other tint, 
except possibly a white line on the 
chest, though even this is not desir- 
able. The Barzoi should be white, 
•- flecked with lemon, gray, or some- 
times brown. The hair, which is soft 
and silky, should wave along the flanks, and 
even be curly here and there, especially about 
the neck. Their long jaws are vigorous, and 
their intelligent eyes give constant pleasure 
by their color and expression. The little Ital- 
ian greyhound, bred solely for pleasure, is far 




Arabian Greyhound (Slougi) 

from equaling his congeners in courage and per- 
severance. He is afraid of water, shivers when 
it is cold, barks when he is out of humor, and 



THE UOG 



39 



is, in short, a parody on the true hound. 
By the Hght that shines between his sleniler 
bones we can see the small modicum nf 
blue blood that makes him the scion, the 
exhausted scion, of a very ancient race. 

VI. The Breeding of Dons 

We have already seen that from the earli- 
est times mankind has had a liking for dogs, 
and greatly to the advantage of those ani- 
mals. It is probable that they are not aware 
of it themselves, but, thanks to the care 
given to the various breeds, their exterior 
has been embellished and their good qualities 
and usefulness increased. Their fate also has 
been made easier, and dogs everywhere now 
take the first place among domestic animals. 
This is true throughout Europe and our own 
country, and although in certain countries 
we must make exception in the case of dogs 
harnessed for draft purposes, whose fate is far 
from happy, the lives of these domestic ani- 
mals in our country are not painful. 

At first the (ibject of mankind was to get 
the most use out of 
dogs, whether for 
hunting or sporting, 
but of late fanciers 
have applied them- 
selves, with great 
success, to increasing 
the beauty of certain 
species by selcctiDn, 





St. Hl'bkrt Dogs 
Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



A SiiiiRT-H.\n;Ki) GRI■.^•Il(lUNIJ 

guarding as much as possible against hurtful 
influences. It was to this object that the breed- 
ing of races owed its rise. Owners of excel- 
lent dogs took pains to preserve or improve the 
race by constant and methodical breeding, and 
thus maintained its reputation. It is notice- 
able that breeding, which is acquiring more and 
more of an international interest, should have 
been, and still remains, in the hands of fanciers 
who have held firmly to the tiller. Now and 
then there come to the surface schemes for the 
"breeding of dogs of all species," which have 
been, and still are, mere efforts to get a liveli- 
hood, by which the good public are less and 
less taken in. These " breeding establish- 
ments" — in other words, dog shops — were 
jiromptly shamed when they put their melan- 
chol)^ products on the market ; and the public, 
growing wise at its own expense, soon learned 
the advantage of buying their dogs from reli- 
able breeders. Among the output of the vari- 
ous corporations of fanciers some mongrel blood 
may still, no doubt, be found ; but associations 
and clubs guarantee the honesty of their trans- 
actions and proceed against their own mem- 
bers for any improper act. 

A good breed of dogs, raised with care and 
at great cost, — dogs that are really useful and 



40 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



often winners at bench shows, — ought to sell for 
a just price. A breeder does not seek to make 
great profits, but it is natural that he should 
wish to cover his costs- fully. If a dog of any 
kind is wanted, without regard to pedigree, it 
is well enough to go to the professional dealer 
or to the market ; but if a high-bred dog is 
desired, one on whom the eye can rest with 
pleasure, who has a good chance of winning 
prizes and of making a posterity worth double 
his own price, then the purchaser must apply 
to some well-known kennels. 

What is meant to-day by a high-bred dog .'' 
It is a dog which, mated with another that 
differs from him only in sex and belongs to the 
same breed as himself, can produce young 
which are in all respects like their parents. 
The type of the race is characterized by the 
shape of the skeleton, particularly of the skull. 
This is transmitted from generation to gener- 
ation, so that a pair of dogs of the same breed 
can produce none but dogs of pure race, and 
could not themselves be of pure race if their par- 
ents, and their predecessors, had not belonged 
to the same race. In dog " sport " (of which we 
shall speak later) it is essential to have a genea- 
logical tree of seven couples of ancestors of pure 
blood. Considered superficially, the breeding 
of races would not be difficult according to 
this theory. Provided Adam and Eve were 
dogs of pure blood, the rest would follow of 
itself. Practice, however, teaches us very differ- 
ently. The breeder must intervene continually, 
for the enigmatic code of the heredity of the 
animal species has not yet been made clear. 
There may be countercurrents, and pairs of 
dogs of pure race may have young that do 
not show the characteristics of their ancestors. 
This is usually seen in the hair and in the 
color. There may also be degeneration when 
things have been left to chance. In that case 
new blood must be infused, which is sometimes 
borrowed from a wholly different breed. At 
the end of a certain time the products of these 
crossbreedings are fit to propagate a pure race. 

Besides the crossbreeding of different spe- 
cies breeders take pains to propagate a sin- 
gle family of the same race without admixture. 



Crossbreeding is necessary not only for the 
refreshing of the blood but also for obtaining 
new breeds ; but by the propagation of a single 
family certain qualities and shapes are obtained 
from parents, children, and grandchildren in a 
short time, and more constantly and surely. 
Nevertheless, this system is very dangerous, 
for the constitution of these animals becomes 
impaired, and though a nobler race is doubt- 
less obtained, it is also weaker and more deli- 
cate, and ends by disappearing. Pairs of dogs 
are not multiplication tables ; and while it is 
true that by the repeated mating of two speci- 
mens of high-bred dogs we obtain specimens 
still more magnificent, yet small defects and 
blemishes are multiplied exceedingly. 

A " noble " dog, however, may very well not 
be the product of inbreeding. When the lines 
of the body are beautiful and the body itself 
muscular and well-proportioned , the legs strong, 
the countenance energetic, the expression in- 
telligent, the stride rapid, and the color and 
coat pleasing, a dog may justly claim the appel- 
lation " noble." A dog which has no blood can- 
not be noble ; we baptize him with the name 
of "street cur." These latter form the great 
majority, no matter what care and what cost 
are expended on the ennobling of the canine 
races. We must find the reason of this fact 
in the general ignorance the simplest rules of 
breeding, and of the best means of bringing 
up and taking care of dogs and making them 
either useful or agreeable. Here follow some 
information and advice on those subjects. 

VII. The Kennel 
A wooden box, in which a suitable opening 
has been made, turned upside down upon the 
earth, may serve as a kennel. A barrel, well- 
cleaned and purified as much as possible, raised 
a little above the earth and supplied with a 
layer of straw, is also a cheap dwelling for a 
dog. We still see, here and there, these primi- 
tive kennels, and dogs seem none the worse 
forliving in them. On the contrary, the inhab- 
itant of the box has air in abundance and a rain 
bath gratis ; while he of the barrel keeps dry, the 
joints of that construction being impermeable. 



THE DOG 



41 



But these houses, even if adorned with a 
few cH)atings of paint, are not solid in the iong 
run, and cannot be recommemled for hi_i;ii-brcd 
iloi;s. A t;-ood kennel, which can be bou,i;ht 
cheaper (in the sense of being solid) than if 
made by the ablest carpenter, has its ojiening 
at the side. It sliould be 
planned thus : By placing 
a partition .i, as a wind 
screen, the dog can lie in 
space B sheltered from drafts. The space 
should be large enough to allow^ of his lying 
at his ease behind the screen. In summer £\ 
the partition can be removed, and if the ^'-^^ 
dog is still hot, he will know enough to W^ 
come out of the kennel to get air. The jrx 
floor may be of planks, but it must always i'^^ifi- 
be possible to clean it with water 
and disinfectants. Some kennels 
are detached from the ground or tu 
back on hinges, thereby contributii 
much to cleanliness, which is so it 
portant, especially for young dog 
If it is desired to prevent the di 
eases of dogs, disinfectants should 
be used every week in all ken- 
nels, but never to the extent of 
leaving the floor damp. Dryness 
and a layer of clean straw, sand. 




The Bakuel Kennel 




A Kennel of P.ast Times 




T)!!. Model Ki:n\ki. 



or any peaty substance is the safety 
of young dogs. A layer of peat, re- 
newed once a month, and covered 
with a layer oi good straw fresh every 



k is a delightful bed for all kinds 
Sawdust, carpets, and 
matting are less advisable. 
It is well for dogs to have 
a place outside their shelter, 
covered wholly or in part 
with sand, and surrounded 
b\' a hedge w-ithout thorns 
or sharp edges. It should 
be near the kennel, and 
should be large or small 
according to local cir- 
cumstances ; it should be 
paved in ]iart with stones or cement and pro- 
vided with little trenches or ditches. It might 
also form a grassv inclosure in the garden near 
the house, preferably with a southern exposure, 
but joartly shaded. Some kennels are paved 
with marble and have water running in trenches 
along the sides. They form, with a separate 
building for the gardener, a pretty group, but 
are apt to be ill in them, 
er kennels are built by 
embers of a famil)- in 
few da)s ; these are 
simple and practical, 
the animals who live in 
them are healthy 
and of exemplary 
gooil temper. 
In kennels of a 
The Same Kennel Wide Oi'kn certain character 




OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Large Kexxels seen i-rom Without 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



^^^^^^^H^^^P' ~ ^^^^1 


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1 




i 


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if ^ 




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Large Kennels seen from Within 



and size the dogs are almost 
always provided with interior 
retreats or lairs ; these must 
be suitably ventilated, but 
protected from drafts. It is 
best to have the kennel face 
the south, but there should 
also be a shady side to it, 
where the animals could 
stretch themselves out against 
the railings. The space be- 
tween the rails should not be 
too wide, lest the dogs, espe- 
cially the young ones, should 
get their legs caught in them. 
All kennels should be dry, 
well aired, and provided with 
fresh water. The gravel of 
the paths is apt to hurt the 
toes of certain dogs, and is 
uncomfortable in winter from 
frost and snow. The water 
troughs, which are in or near 
the kennel, ought to be within 
easy reach of the dogs, fresh 
water being an indispensable 
necessity. 

It is not well to put many 
dogs in the same retreat ; and 



THE DOG 



43 



it is best to separate the se.xes not liy a railing;- 

but by a stone wall, throui;h whieh the)- rannot 

see each other. In large kennels, w here jiacks 

of sporting or hunting clogs are kept (foxhoiintls, 

for instance), a dozen are often 

put together ; but in such 

kennels the conditions differ 

in many respects from those 

elsewhere. It is curious to see 

and hear, once or twice a da) , 

the whole pack of these 

hounds give a sudden bark 

without apparent cause. A 

few will begin, and soon the 

noise (full cry) is deafening; 

then it ceases as suddenly as 

it began. Each set of dogs 




the command "Hounds! hounds!" the male 
dogs enter their quarters. The training of 
clogs, es]3ecially pointers, is always admirable 
kennels of a certain size. 



VIII. Indispens.able Arti- 
cles FOR THE Kennel 
Besides the ordinary im- 
plements for cleaning there 
ought to be in every kennel 
plenty of water and disinfec- 
tants, also brushes, combs, 
and leather or india-rubber 
gloves. These articles should 
be kept in some fixed, clean 
place apart, for it often hap- 
pens that servants will use 



seems to know not only its own name but the them for all sorts of purposes for which they 

names of the other sets. In the evening, when were not intended. If the kennel is large, it is 

the dogs return in charge of their keepers, the easy to make a place for them ; and if there is 

young dogs will go to their own t|uarters at ]ilcnt)- of room, the UmA ,,t thr dogs — biscuit. 




L.XKllKR M)K Kl-.NNELS 



the call of "Pups! pups!" Next follows the meat, eggs, bone dust — and some medicaments 
summons of " Ladies, come in ! " and all the may also be kept there. The biscuit must, of 
females press in to their retreat. Lastly, at course, be kept dr\-, the meat jirotccted from 



44 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



flies, and the whole larder made safe from 
attack by the inhabitants of the kennel. 

The wardrobe of dogs, great and small, has 
its place in the kennel. First, there is the collar 




•*■ Dog with a Korthal's Collar 

that the dog wears when he takes a walk. The 
simpler it is the better. Nevertheless, on a 



is a kind called the Korthal's collar, after its 
inventor, who is known in all countries for his 
improvements in the breed of wiry-haired sport- 
ing dogs. This collar tightens as the dog pulls ; 
but not beyond a certain point, thanks 
to its metal rings. In training dogs 
several kinds of collars must be used, 
as we shall see farther on. 

Chains, straps, and ropes deserve 
more attention than is usually given 
them. A solid but light chain, with 
two or three movable rings, is indis- 
pensable, especially for bench shows; 
but they are necessaiy in other cases 
also, some dogs having the habit, when 
fastened by leather straps, of gnawing 
themselves loose. 

Nevertheless, it is well in taking 
the dog to walk that the owner shall 
not seem chained to his beast, or vice 
versa. A strong strap, with hooks, 
neither too long nor too short, is there- 
fore more useful. Two dogs can be trained to 
walk side by side by means of a coupling, but 



black poodle a colored or nickel-plated collar in any case straps, chains, and cords ought not 
shows to better advantage than a black leather to be used unless circumstances compel it ; for 



strap ; and a lady's pet with 
round his neck is not as much 
admired as if he wore 
colored cravat. It is 
record that an Italia 
greyhound was so over- 
come with envy at see- 
ing his brother with a 
silver collar that he 
committed suicide. 
Dogs may wear old 
collars in their kennels, 
and it is even desirable 
that they should, because 
in washing and brushing 
them these precious adorn- 
ments are easily spoiled. We \ 
recommend, especially, flat or round 




I dog fastened to you is 

: a pleasure to the dog 

often none at all to you. 

^hen the animal is very 

young, or when he is not 

yet used to the collar 

and chain, he will not 

allow himself to be 

ed, and will often stop 

I short in the road. 

Attention must then 

be paid to the collar, 

for every such dog will 

try to slip his head out 

f what he considers an 

/ instrument of torture and 

scamper off. Gentle words, much 

luiiunce, and, above all, persever- 



leather collars, of which one end goes Extra Wide Collar ance will, after a time, produce the 
through a buckle which tightens ^^^ Bulldogs desired effect. On the first occasion 

round the neck when pulled upon. They are of going out with a led dog it is best to choose 
absolutely necessary at bench shows. There a quiet road. Old dogs, who do not mind the 




Pii'^; I'li's:^ 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hb^h^ J^^^F\ 






f^syffl 







" LaDIKS, COM!-: IN I " 
I'lioto J. I'. Newman. lierkhampstcad 



46 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 













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A Walk with a Dog on a Chain is often but Half a Pleasure 



collar and chain, often retain the disagreeable 
trick of pulling forward with such force that 
the promenade becomes mere dragging, — a 
fatigue and not a pleasure. Dogs cannot be 
given too many walks, especially in the country. 
They learn to understand the will of their 
master and end by obeying the slightest sign. 




Choose between Me and your Machine 



Every infraction ought to be punished, at first 
by words and then by actions. If the dog 
lingers behind and does not come promptly 
at the first call or whistle, he should be fas- 
tened at once to the chain. When he is too 
busy with his congeners, or when he runs off 
too far, the same punishment should follow 
immediately upon the fault. 

Another habit of which it is very difficult 
to break a dog is that of wallowing in the 
mud. This is probably a relic of the habits 
of his ancestors or an inheritance from the 
wild dog, but it is none the less annoying. It 
is said that if a decoction of cabbage is given 
to them with their meals they will lose the 
habit, but people say a great many things, and 
natural habits are hard to change. 

In bicycle riding a dog is certainly a good 
escort on lonely roads, but in other respects, 
both for dog and cyclist, it is only a half 
pleasure. Actual torture is sometimes seen. 
Greyhounds, certain terriers, and a few large 
dogs can accompany a cyclist without too 



THE DOG 



47 



other substances ; these dogs also do well and 
are healthy. For kennels of a dozen dogs or 
more it is iiriulent to cook broth at home, and 
to ,i;ive to the best dogs great quantities of dog 
biscuit. Biscuit is also very convenient for 
those who iiuve onl\' one or two df)Lrs, as it 



much fatigue; but to take a basset hound, a 
bulldog, a collie, or a St. Bernard on a rapitl 
trip is injurious to the animal and ilistressing 
to his owner. A short triji on a summer's 
afternoon in the park or half an hour into the 
country will not harm any dog, whereas a long 
and rapid run injures both his 
heart and his lungs. " Choose 
between me and your machine," 
says the dog, and he is perfectly 
right 

It is also injurious to send a 
dog out twice a day on the chain 
with a servant, — in the morning 
when the milkman is at the door, 
in the evening when the maid 
goes to market. In the morning 
Turk or Mimi will want to make 
acquaintance with his or her con- 
geners of a doubtful kind ; in the 
evening it is the maid's acquaint- 
ance who makes the promenade 
disagreeable to the dog. 

Go out yourself with your 
dogs ; feed them yourself ; con- 
vince yourself daily that they are cared for as merely requires to be broken up and soaked, or 
you desire, — these are some of the rules that it can be bought broken uji. Thus dry food in 
every owner of dogs should inscribe in gilt sufficient quantity is at hand at all times. It 
letters on his kennels. Abo\-e all, carry the is necessary, however, to be sure of a good 
food yourself to your dogs ; animals accustom dealer, who will supply fresh biscuit from the 
themselves and attach themselves most to best manufacturers, who prepare their pnnluct 
those who feed them. with the utmost care. Many brands of adulter- 

ated biscuit, made of refuse of all kinds, are now 
IX. L.\RE AND rooD „,.| j^g market. To certain dogs who cannot 

It is very difficult to say what is the best bear meat, excellent fish biscuit may be given 
food to give to dogs. The harness^^^^^^^^^^^^^ now and then. It is best not to give 
dogs, for instance, who never ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ it dry, though all dogs, espe- 




A(,ki:i:.\i;li-: I'i;o.\u:n.\1)[: n 



get anything but bread a 
potatoes, continue in 
good health whil 
doing hard wor 
Some are fed 
solely on biscuit 
made of flour 
mixed with a 
certain quan- 
tity of minced 
meat, fish, or 




cially young ones, ought 
to have hard food often 
n order to cleanse 
nd strengthen 
their teeth. 
1 is not bad to 
.uy the food 
i\ ith rye bread, 
own bread, 
uul occasion- 
ally vegetables. 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




IXDISPEN'SAKI.E AkTICLKS F(TR THE KeXXEE AND W 



Young dogs should be given much milk, with 
or without water, and sometimes a little whey. 
What is left from the table or from restaurant 
dinners, like moistened crusts, sour potatoes, 
the skins and heads of fish, and such things as 
we hear people say, " Oh ! the dog will eat 
that," are certainly swallowed by him, 
but the results are diseases o 
the skin or of the intestines, 
ulcers in the throat, and 
bills from veterinaries 

If a dog will not eat 
potatoes without sauce, 
give him no food until 
his stomach begins to 
crave it. Al- r- ' 
ways give a 
dog less than ' 
his stomach 
demands. To | 
be kept i 
good health a 

dog should never turn from his plate till he has 
licked it clean with pleasure. When he leaves 
any food upon it, it is a sign that he has eaten 
too much. Two meals a day are sufficient, — 
one cold in the morning, and the other luke- 
warm in the afternoon. Pups should 
be fed three or four 
a day, and they ought 
have twice as much 
milk as vegetables 
Food should never 
be hot, for a dog- 
dislikes as much 
as a man to burn 
his tongue, but he 
is not c a u t i o u 
enough to refra 
from gulping down 
boiling mess. 

Every dog, being born carniv- 
orous, ought to have meat ; but 
it is impossible to fix the exact 
quantity he should receive without considering 
his form and the conditions under which he 
lives. Draft dogs and hounds which hunt and 
course ought to have meat in proportion to 



Dogs 




A Dog ought to eat with 
Pleasure 



their work. Horse fiesh, beef, and mutton 
are good for them, provided the meat is fresh 
and not fat. In the great kennels broth is 
often made of calves' heads and feet. Rice 
is an excellent food, and mixed with codfish is 
a favorite winter food for dogs that are not 
pampered. From time to time a little 
cod-liver oil (which can be ob- 
tained in biscuit form) puri- 
fies the blood and gives 
a luster to the coat. 
Over the food of young 
dogs and those nearly 
adult a pinch of phos- 
phated lime or pure 
bone dust 
should be scat- 
tered. Dogs 
like to gnaw 
tender bones, 
which help to 
strengthen 
their own bony structure ; they bury a bone to 
make it tender, but it sometimes happens that 
a hard bone is thrown to a puppy, and this is 
always injurious. What the dog needs to find 
now and then on his diet list is grass — just 
common grass. He often goes in 
search of it himself, and eats 
like a famished cow. 
Once a month he must 
be made to take a 
vermifuge mixed 
^ with his milk and 
given preferably 
I when he is fasting 
/ A vermifuge in bis- 
cuit form, a teaspoon- 
ful of calomel, or any of 
,uj?^' the vermifuges advertised 
in the papers do good ser\fice 
when the ailment is merely earth- 
worms, with which nearly all dogs 
are troubled, just as they are by 
threadworms. Visible emaciation and the rub- 
bing of the hind parts on the ground show the 
presence of these mischief-makers. But dogs 
can have other species of worms that may be 



THE DOG 



49 




Hi-: ouoht 

HAVE TOO 11 



dangerous to man. They must absolutely be 
prevented from licking plates and dishes used 
in the kitchen, or any utensil used for wasliing 
tlic facc\ especially that of a child. After each 
vermifuge a dose of castor oil should 
be given, in a quantity projioi 
tioned to the size of the 
animal, beginning \v 
a teaspoonful and in 
creasing until the 
maximum of a table- 
spoonful is reached. 

Here is another 
piece of serious 
advice to those who 
have young dogs 
never fatten them. The 
Chinese and some tribes of 
negroes in Guinea consider ilog 
flesh a delicacy, but as long as it 
does not appear on the dinner lists 
of America there is no object in 
giving dogs excessive nourishment, which 
undoubtedly shortens their lives. 

The care given to dogs for bench shows 
differs considerably, as we shall see later, from 
that which they receive in private families. 
Among the latter external care is, unhappily, 
so neglected that the animals finally acc[uire 
skin diseases, which make them objects of dis- 
gust to every one, and they exhale an odor 
which is veiy hard to remove. All dogs which 
a family desires to keep in good health (for 
their own sake as well as the dog's) should be 
freed at least once a week from dust and all 
other impurities that have collected on their 
skin and in their hair. This ought, by rights, 
to be done daily, and it is not a really difficult 
matter, with leather gloves and a good brush. 
A few strokes of the brush in the direction in 
which the hair lies will suffice to give another 
aspect to the coat of a short-haired dog. Long- 
haired dogs must be combed after massage with 
the gloved hand. The dead hair should be care- 
fully removed. During the period of shedding 
the hair it is wise to proceed carefully, as the 
skin is very sensitive at such times. All combs 
and brushes used upon the animal should be 



cleaned at once, and preferably with a disin- 
fectant. Besides dust and dirt the hair of 
a dog frequently hides \ermin, but if he is 
cleaned dail}' he will ha\'e few or none. 

It is not bad to wash and bathe dogs, 
igh this is often done to 
excess. The}' may be 
allowed to swim from 
time to time, but 
there is a great dif- 
ference between 
swimming and a 
bath for cleanli- 
, ness. A dog should 
have a bath once a 
month, and should 
then be i^et to the skin. 
After rubbing him well with 
.Miap and warm water, every particle 
of soap must be rinsed off and the 
dog allowed to shake himself vigor- 
ously. He should then be dried with 
towels and taken on the chain for a short walk ; 
if this is not done he almost always takes cold, 
or else he goes and dries himself against a dirtv 



NEVER TO 
UCH TO E.\T 



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^^^^^^^^VvJ 





50 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



wall or in the sand. Baths are quite injurious 
to the hair of collies and to Russian hounds 
with long waving hair. Those dogs should be 
rubbed with equal quantities of magnesia and 
rice powder mixed, which should previously be 




n iHE De.^u Hair 



thoroughly dried. A chamois skin and a little 
oil in the palm of the hand contribute much to 
keeping the coat smooth. 

There are all sorts of domestic remedies for 
fleas and other vermin, but the best and most 
lasting results are obtained from the medica- 
ments put forth by the best manufacturers. To 
permit a dog to swim as much as he likes is a 
good and easy way of cleansing the skin ; on 
the other hand, we disapprove of the mania 
some persons have of making dogs take cold 
baths in ponds and rivers against their will, 
especially since such baths are usually too 
short to produce any cleansing effect. 

Proper care of the skin and coat will give a 
healthy dog a brilliant exterior, which together 
with a greater vivacity and gayety distinguishes 
him at a glance from a neglected dog ; while 
at the same time he will lose the disagreeable 
trick of scratching and biting himself, and will 
no longer exhale an odor. 

The hair of a dog being his natural cloth- 
ing,- he needs no other fur in winter. Neverthe- 
less, there is a whole wardrobe of garments for 
dogs ; and dressmakers in London, Paris, and 



New York do a good business by making 
them. Traveling cloaks, evening cloaks, jackets 
for the carriage, waterproofs, and even india- 
rubber boots find purchasers of both sexes 
Shirts for dogs, monograms embroidered on 
their garments, visiting cards, etc., form 
part of this branch of industry. There is 
a shop in the Galerie d'Orleans, in Paris, 
where Grand Duke Michael of Russia is 
one of the best customers, and where the 
Khedive of Egypt once ordered for a little 
dog an incroyable ; in other words, an over- 
coat with velvet lapels. The Comtesse de 
Paris, the queen of Portugal, and Prince 
Waldemar of Denmark all order their dog's 
clothing at the same place ; but it goes 
without saying that, excepting delicate grey- 
hounds, no dog needs to be clothed, and 
they had better be left to their natural 
garments. 

Formerly the great hounds that were 
sent against big game were protected by 
a sort of cuirass. This is seen in a picture 
by Rubens, in the Belvedere of Vienna, and also 
in the gallery of the Duke of Coburg. This 
covering had a useful purpose, protecting the 
dog from the bites of boars and bears. But 
the feebler animals of our day never dream of 




Toilet Completed 

fighting ; they crouch to earth and tremble in 
their collars if a grunt is heard. 

When you see two dogs fighting and biting 
each other don't break your cane over their 
backs, but pinch the nose of the top dog or 



THE DOG 



51 



grip his throat, sUpping your stick through his 
collar. He will let go immediately for want of 
air. But if you are the one the dog has bitten, 
send at once for the doctor. 

X. Birth .and E.vrlv Youth 
If a person owns a well-bred female dog and 
desires to reproduce the breed, or if he owns 
a male and desires to have pups which later 
will have a money value, let him never lose 
sight of the following maxim : " Marry gold 
to gold or silver to gold." The male and the 
female can never be too good. The selection 
should be left to 
an experienced 
breeder, taking 
care to put in 
writing the condi- 
tions of the trans- 
action. 

When the time 
comes for the 
pups to be born 
the mother should 
be kept in perfect 
repose. For some 
weeks previous 
she should not be 
allowed to take 
fatiguing walks 
or to jump and 

bound. A place should have been already 
prepared for her, apart from the other dogs. 
It is best not to put too much straw in it, or 
the pups cannot be dried fast enough by the 
mother's licking. The mother will choose for 
herself the best side of the kennel or barn. It 
is well that she should be habituated to the 
place some time in advance, or it might happen 
that her new residence would not please her, 
and then, at the last moment, an anxious 
mother will give birth to her pujis in some 
unexpected place which may be injurious to 
them. It is needless to say that nature ought 
to be left to itself, but the present system of 
breeding has put many dogs into a state that is 
unnatural. It is not surprising, therefore, that 
some mothers crush their progeny, or, in the 




agitation of the moment, do not know what to 
do with the wet and whimpering pups ; and 
thus whole litters are sometimes lost. It is 
not superfluous to take precautions. 

Among other precautions a large box or case 
should be provided, with vertical partitions about 
six inches high, where the mother can give birth 
to her young. In it should be laid a second 
wooden floor, carefully planed, with small holes 
pierced through it, by which the moisture can 
drain off. This floor should be covered with 
peat dust. There should also be four trans- 
versal laths placed along one interior side of 
the box, under 
which the pups 
can lie without 
danger of being 
pressed upon by 
the mother. 
These laths must 
not have sharp 
edges that might 
w o u n d the 
mother's breast. 
If the weather is 
cold an empty 
sack fjr a piece of 
old carpet might 
be nailed over the 
opening, which 
arrangement is 
always excellent to close a dog's retreat, because 
it excludes cold, and yet the animals can easily 
pass in and out by pushing aside the portiere. 

Nature has provided that the mother can 
feed all the offspring that she brings into the 
world ; but our system of breeding, no doubt 
unintentional!)', has put a spoke in her wheel, 
and very large litters are nearly always a fail- 
ure. The strongest of the newborn quickly 
choose the best places under the mother's 
teats, and push aside the weaker ones ; so that 
when the litter is large some of the pups get 
little nourishment, while others get none at all, 
and die. It is quite a risk to leave six with the 
mother. Breeders usually try to leave four or 
fi\e. The best and strongest can soon be dis- 
co\ered ; but in every litter there is usually 



M.\ti:rn.al Cares 



52 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



a laggard, which remains small and feeble even 
when adult. A mother can suckle ten at a 
time, but the anatomical construction of her 
breast gives a smaller relative production of 
milk than is the case with any of the 
other domestic animals, w 
alone is reason enough to 
limit the number of pups 
If the mother is a very 
valuable dog, a substi- 
tute is found for her 
after a time ; and 
advertisements often 
appear in the news- 
papers, to the great 
amusement of those 
who know nothing of 
dogs, soliciting the serv- 
ices of a "wet-nurse 
bitch." An attempt has been 
made to. manufacture an artificial 
nurse, consisting of an apparatus 
which the pups are kept warm and 
supplied with nursing bottles of warm 
milk. Some pups are brought up on 
the bottle, but the mother's milk is so efficacious 
from the birth of the little ones that art is 
found powerless to equal nature. It is, in fact, 
absolutely necessary that the pups should suck 
the first drops from the mother's breast, because 
that milk, watery in appearance, contains sub- 
stances which warm them internally and carry 




Young Mastiffs 

Photo J. T. Newman, 
Berkhampstead 

If 




Youx 



UNDS — German 



off matters which they have in their bodies, and 
which ought to disappear as soon as possible. 

Mothers who are very young give birth at 
first to few pups. Their litters become larger 
till their fourth year, when they begin 
to diminish. During the period 
of suckling the mother should 
given food that is easy 
to digest, and in which 
there is much white of 
egg, grease, and salt, 
which serve to make 
milk for the young 
ones. A broth of flesh, 
with much warm milk 
and rice, makes excel- 
lent nourishment for the 
nursing mother. At the 
end of five or si.x weeks 
meat can be given to her, 
either cooked or raw, minced 
J with bread and, if necessary, 
biscuit. Salt must not be forgotten, 
nor phosphated chalk, nor bone dust 
to strengthen the bones, 
the weather is warm, the pups can be 
taken out of the bo.x on the fifth day and put 
in a basket. The box should then be thor- 
oughly cleansed. At the end of eight days 
the young dogs begin to open their eyes and 
try to creep ; by the fifteenth day they can, 
though very awkwardly, lap milk from a dish 
or a plate. The milk, however, should be mixed 
with water or limewater. Weaning must not 
begin till after the fifth week. The mother 
will try to fulfill her nursing duties as long as 
possible ; but if the pups are fed during her 
absence from them (which ought to take place 
four or five times a day), the difificulty will 
soon be overcome. If the little creatures are 
fed at first on milk, broth, cod-liver oil, or 
biscuit prepared for young pups, they will 
soon take these things as their regular food. 
But they should be fed several times a day in 
small quantities, and not all at once, in which 
case they will be likely to stuff themselves to 
their ears, to the great detriment of their health 
and well-being. 



THE DOG 



53 



The place where the pups live must be 
often cleansed and disinfected, as they are far 
from cleanly themselves. The habit of cleanli- 
ness must be taught to each jiujipv, <>nc by 



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HdW TO Lift a Ydi'xo Dot; 

one ; they will not learn it in a body. In lift- 
ing young dogs they should never be taken by 
the neck, but always under and round the 
body by both hands. 

They will soon become the victims of fleas, 
which, in spite of all efforts, do infest all ani- 
mals. The pups must be washed carefully, 
but no disapproval of the use of tobacco water 
or turpentine can be too severe. Neither is it 
well to use kerosene, which will destroy no more 
fleas than careful washing. Dotzer's Cream of 
Parasites is now the universal remedy against 
these pests ; it is also a preventive of eruptions 
of all kinds. 

XI. Old Age 

Dogs are in their prime when three or four 
years old. Until their sixth )car they are 
strong and healthy ; after that they decline, 
and a dog .that is eight years old is regarded 



by his kind as an old fellow. At ten he is 
really an old dog, and though he may live a 
few years longer, the usual life of the domestic 
clog lasts only ten or eleven years. The great- 
est age on record is that of a spaniel who lived 
to be twenty-six years old. It is remarkable 
how old dogs, especially those who have given 
proofs of perspicacity through life, retain their 
intellectual faculties to the last. Leibnitz de- 
clared that these animals never wholly die ; 
and according to the Scandinavian mythology 
the dog is the messenger of death. 

On the other hand, in our matter-of-fact 
epoch, a dead dog is dead ; and the first thing 
to do is to take the body of that friend of 
man and bur)- it. Dead dogs are sometimes 




1 1, iw Mil 1(1 I.ii r lIiM 

thrown into the water, where ihcy float among 
the reeds, and swarms of flies and moscjuitoes 
disseminate germs that are certainly injurious 
and even poisonous. The proper way of pre- 
venting this would be to burn all bodies of 
animals ; but so long as the cremation of man 
makes slow progress, that of animals will be 
slower still. W'c must, therefore, Inirv them, 



THE DOCx 



55 



and whatever we may think, it is the best way 
for the present. There are cemeteries for dogs 
in London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Many a tear 
has been shed in those cemeteries where lies the 
old and faithful friend of the family, who has 
shared its joys and sorrows ; and where the 
sporting dog, the joy and comfort of the sports- 
man, sleeps his last sleep. Persons have some- 
times laughed both at and in those cemeteries ; 
we leave it to our readers to judge whether or 
not they have cause to do so. 

The burial of dogs dates far back. Among 
the ancient Mexicans they were buried in the 
tombs of their deceased mas- 
ters, and the same was done 
on the death of children, be- 
cause, according to their ideas, 
those faithful friends would 
help the little ones to find 
their way ; while our advanced 
civilization, that knows so 
much better, casts them into 
the manure pit. There have 
been e.xceptions to this rule, 
however. In Celebes, the 
largest of the Molucca 
Islands, they are buried to 
improve the soil, and thus 
continue their services to 
man. Frederick the Great 
caused tombs to be built for 
his hounds at Sans Souci, and 
numerous are the monuments 
that have been raised to the 
memory of clogs. Alexander the Great built 
a town in memory of one of these friends, and 
Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 608 
to 639, decreed that the anniversary of the death 
of his dog Arzibur should be kept annually as 
a day of mourning. Lately a well-known dog 
named Syras (by Prince Charles of Denmark, 
now king of Norway, after an English actor) 
died in London and was buried at Scarsdale, 
his head resting on a cushion of flowers in 
a rosewood coffin. A ]3rocession of forty per- 
sons in automobiles followed him to the ceme- 
tery, W'here a fine monument is now in process 
of erection. All that, undoubtedly, is sheer 



exaggeration ; but the simple burial of the 
domestic dog is less shocking, especially for 
the children, than his consignment to the ma- 
nure heap. 

XII. The Usefulness of Dogs 

If it were asked by which of the dog's gifts 
or organs mankind has chieHy. profited, the 
answer undoubtedly would be scent, — Jhiir. 
Hunting and sporting dogs of all kinds are 
proof of this, and bloodhounds, which of late 
have been again much talked, of, will probably 
render much service in future to the laws and 




A. DiSTiNouisHF.n Mf.muf.k ok tim-: HrM.ANi". Sociktv 

the police. Up to this time the employment of 
bloodhounds {c/iiciisdc Saint HiilJi-rt)\n England 
has been merely tentative. Thanks to his scent, 
the bloodhound is well fitted to follow a human 
trail, and they have been used for this purpose 
in America with such brilliant results that it is 
really surprising that the European continent 
has not, as yet, attempted to get this service 
from them. Trained to the w^ork, these dogs 
will indicate where the jierson wanted is to be 
found, without tloing him the slightest harm. 
They must not be confounded with ferocious 
bloodhounds sent in pursuit of negroes, about 
whom all sorts of exaggerateil tales have been 



56 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




German Polick Don 

told. There is now a club for the de- 
velopment of these hounds and their 
congeners. 

The law could profitably use these 
animals in certain cases, and they 
might be given to the police as 
watchers and companions. In remote 
quarters, where only two police agents 
can be employed, a dog would answer 
well as a reenforcement, and would be 
cheaper than a man. In fact, in Ham- 
burg, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Brunswick, 
Oldenburg, and Strasburg the police 
have dogs. In Paris the police have 
a brigade of life-saving Newfound- 
lands, who are particularly fitted and 
used for rescuing persons from the 
Seine. In Austria the attention of the 
authorities has been drawn to such 
use of these animals, while at Zurich, 
Ghent, and Rotterdam they now form 
part of the police force. 

It is difficult to decide which race 
or breed is best fitted for such 



purposes. Lovers of the shepherd dog favor that race ; 
breeders of terriers (which have already done good 
service with the armies) recommend them highly. In 
any case the dog must be dark in color, not too small, 
courageous, hardened, not pampered, and possessed of 
a keen scent. There are places on certain frontiers 
where the customhouse officers employ dogs with great 
success in tracking smugglers. On the other hand, it 
often happens that the dog helps the smuggler by car- 
rying prohibited merchandise across the frontier with 
caution and great rapidity. 

War dogs, introduced of late into armies, never miss 
the roll call. The Scotch shepherd dog and the Aires- 
dale terrier have been found most suitable for both cam- 
paign and ambulance use. They do incalculable service 
in seeking for the wounded among bushes and under- 
growth, where the poor fellows escape the eye of the 




Dogs of the River Brigade, Paris 



I 




A BiUGxnE OF Lii'E-Saving Docs okgani/id hv M. Lepint., Pkei-ect ok roi.u i; at 1'akis 



58 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Red Cross but not the nose of the dog. They 
are trained to bring relief and food to the 
shghtly wounded, and to carry cartridges along 




German War Dog 

the Hnes and dispatches to the generals ; they 
are also trained to warn the outposts at night 
(without barking) of an intended surprise. 

At the hospital on Mount St. Bernard 
a race of dogs has for centuries been kept 
to rescue travelers who have lost their way. 
The manner in which this was done in past 
years, when there were many more foot 
passengers than at present, has been too 
often described to need repetition here ; it 
is enough to say that along the route at 
regular intervals there are "refuges," now 
connected with the hospital by telephone. 
The dog, accompanied by a monk, carries 
the traveler to one of these shelters, and 
no longer needs the traditional little key 
around his neck. 

The St. Bernard dogs on the mountain 
of that name do not present the imposing 
appearance of their congeners as seen in 
the bench shows of the present day. The 
care and study given to the breeding and 
improvement of the race have been admir- 
able. While in England and America breed- 
ers have chiefly paid attention to size, and 
have wandered from the original type, those 
of the continent of Europe have striven to pre- 
serve the pure blood of that type as much as 
possible. The head should be heavy, the muzzle 



square, the nose thick, the ears small and car- 
ried high, the color, preferably dark. The legs, 
with catlike paws, must be strong, the chest 
well rounded, the back broad and straight, and 
the tail pendent. Both varieties, the short 
haired and the long haired, should measure at 
least twenty-six inches to the shoulder for the 
males and twenty-five for the females. The 
color may be all shades of red to brown, with 
the collar, chest, feet, and tip of tail white. The 
catlike shape of the feet enables the animal to 
walk on the snow without sinking deep, which 
would lessen his chance of saving life. Obviously 
these qualities are of use only on a mountain. 

Every one remembers the legend of Barry, 
the most famous of all the St. Bernard dogs, 
who, in the seventeenth century, saved hun- 
dreds of lives on the Alps. It was said that 
this faithful animal was killed by a wounded 
soldier, who thought he was about to attack 
him, whereas the dog was really trying to pull 
him from the edge of a precipice. This touch- 




St. Bernard (German Type) 

ing tale is false, for Barry was killed in 1817 
because of old age, and sent to the museum, 
where he was stuffed and may still be seen. 



THE UOG 



59 



In the ranks of the use- 
ful dogs we must place 
the draft dog, though it 
is more than doubtful 
whether the structure of 
this animal is fitted to 
draw vehicles. It is cer- 
tain, hinvever, that they 
render incalculable serv- 
ices by d r a w i n g the 
sledges of the inhabitants 
of northern regions antl 
those of explorers who 
travel to the Pole. M. 
Fridtjof Nansen wrote to 
us recently as follows : 

"The dogs of the Eski- 
mos and those of Siberia 
can easily do ninety miles 
a day. In fine weather 
they will run without stop- 
ping for four or five hours, 
and each dog can draw a 

weight of three hundred and twenty-five pounds. 
The sledge dog, or 'narta,' is relatively light, but 
vigorous. The runners of the sledge, over which 
water is poured from time to time, forming a 
smooth coat of ice half an inch thick, glide with 
rapidity over the snow. None but male dogs at 
least three years old are used for this purpose. 




St. BERNAun 
Special photo from the convent 

For the leading couple the best dogs are chosen ; 
these are followed by si.x other couple, guided 
by means of a stick five feet long and by the 
voice of their driver. The life of travelers, 
also the conveyance of the post throughout 
northern Siberia, depend entirely on these 
dogs. Consequently they are carefully treated 





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A Si'LicNiMi) Lot of St. Hr.uNAKDS 



6o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and fed. They cannot be compared with those 
martyred draft animals that we see, ill harnessed 
and ill fed, in more than one civilized land." 

The Belgian draft dog, a model of strength 
and health, makes an exception to the above 
charge. Any one who has seen these dogs 




Overwrought Draft Dog 

carrying round milk and vegetables in Brus- 
sels must have been struck with the superiority 
of their harness over that used in the Low 
Countries and elsewhere. Holland, however, 
is beginning to take more interest in the fate 
of draft dogs ; and a society has recently been 
formed, estabhshing a tariff of distances and 
rewarding owners who can show 
good care, good harness, and 
good carts. We can only ap- 
plaud such effort to put an end 
to the martyrdom of draft dogs. 
It is admitted that the large 
herbivorous animals are more 
fitted to draw and to carry than 
the carnivorous animals. The 
shape of a dog's foot is unfavor- 
able to traction ; nor can a dog's 
chest stand the effort, and a col- 
lar is martyrdom to him. Their 
natural way of progression is 
somewhat oblique, and the hind 
feet never step in line with the front ones. The 
back is strong to leap, but not to pull, and above 
all not to carry. Their shoulders are more de- 
tached from the body than those of the horse. 
And yet, in spite of these objections, the dog 
has been .made a draft animal in many of the 
European countries. 



There is more humanity in the attempts that 
have been made to utilize the dog in various 
industries. Sometimes the end of a telephonic 
cord is put into his mouth, and he climbs the 
pole with it, thereby saving much labor. At 
other times he turns the crank of the churn, for 
which the old-world peasant woman gives him 
a good lump of liver as a reward. 

At a printing press in Plymouth a dog 
named Gipsy turns a wooden wheel that sets 
the press in motion ; he takes pleasure in his 
work and is much more regular, and also 
cheaper, than men employed in the same labor. 
We must not forget to put in the class of use- 
ful dogs those who take care of the blind. There 
was one who for years attended his mendicant 
master at one of the London railway stations, 
and collected alms enough to make the poor man 
comfortable. Later he was promoted to the rank 
of assistant railway guard, because he always 
announced to the station master by a short 
bark the approach of a train. 

In short, the usefulness of these animals is 
great and does not cease with their lives, for 
many are the kid gloves and the true chamois 
leather portfolios that are cut out of his skin, — 



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unless, indeed, it has already been used to make 
beautiful heads of hair for dolls, or a charming 
set of furs. 

XIII. The Training of Dogs 
Nearly all dogs lend themselves readily to 
training ; there are only a few very backward 




Dogs of thi". Cistoms Sf,k\icf, at Roubaix 



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Ki:ai)V to St.art 



62 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS- 



individuals who do not soon learn their lessons 
by heart. Thus, for example, we can teach a 
simple domestic dog not to take anything from 




Customhouse Officers and their Dogs 

the left hand by offering him a certain number 
of times something in a spoon held between 
the thumb and forefinger of that hand, and 
then tapping him on the nose with the 
other end of the spoon when he tries to 
take what is in it. If we repeat the 
same thing with the right hand and give 
him the dainty, speaking caressingly, 
he will learn very quickly to know the 
difference ; and even if the hands are 
crossed, he will know which is which. 

If a dog has his basket in a certain 
room, he must never be allowed to seek 
a lair elsewhere, and he should be taught 
not to leave his basket at every noise. 
He ought to follow his master when he 
leaves the house, and not rush out in his 
joy, often between the legs of the passers. 
His master can teach him to walk after 
or beside him by walking thus regularly 
up and down a room daily for a quarter 
of an hour. If the dog persists upon 
running before your feet, step upon his toes, 
calling out, " Back ! " Animals always learn 
by experience, which is more than can be said 
of human beings. 



Sporting dogs of all kinds are subjected to 
a much more severe discipline ; it is sometimes 
necessary to use a spiked collar, while the 
trainer must possess a patience 
equal to any test. The sportsman 
must be absolutely sure that his 
orders will be precisely executed ; 
consequently a plan of precise in- 
struction should be carefully laid 
out in advance, as the training of 
sporting or hunting dogs requires 
perpetual repetition of what has 
been taught and learned, with im- 
mense caution not to spoil the dog. 
An animal is easily frightened by 
rough words and the use of the 
whip at the wrong moment. He 
soon loses all confidence in his 
master if he receives blows on the 
slightest occasion. An angry or 
a thoughtless man may obtain a 
servile submission by striking his 
dog on the head or nose, but he will never bring 
him to learn willingly or to take pleasure in 
obeying him. This fault is committed hundreds 




Ax Arrest 



of times by the masters, which shows how dif- 
ficult it is to punish a misdemeanor justly and 
firmly, but no farther. We are, moreover, ab- 
solutely convinced that more can be obtained, 



THE DOG 



63 



always and everywhere, by rewards rather than 
by punishments. A firm oral order, expressed 
each lime in the same words, accompanied by 
the same movement of the hand or arm, is 
certain to be efficacious. One of our doj^s 
always stopped short if we raised our hand 
slightly without saying a word. Even when ;i 
turn of the road hid us from his sight, he re- 
mained in the same place ; but he lay down, 
which showed some uneasiness of mind. 

A dog is easily taught the simplest tricks, 
such as jumping over a stick or through a hnop, 
by offering him a dainty with the stick or hooji 
High jumps are, however, injurious to the artic- 
ulations and also to the lungs of young or small 
dogs. When a dog has seriously hurt himself 
in doing one of these tricks he (very wiseh t 
will never attempt it again. Dogs that arc- 
trained for gymnastic performances in public 
go through a long and laborious process, the 
details of which it is useless to give here. 
Firmness, infinite patience, kindness, and en- 
couragement more than punishment are still the 
secrets of success. To the true lover of dogs, 
however, such exhibitions are far from being 
a pleasure, wonderful as they are 

Nothing is easier than to teach 
the domestic dog certai 
things, such, for instance, 
as shutting the door. A 
piece of meat should be 
held against the open 
door, high enough for him 
to reach it when standing 
upright on his hind legs 
When he touches it the 
door swings to, and at th 
same moment the teacher 
says, "Shut the door." W'il 
a little patience the dog is soon 
taught to go to the door and shut il 
at a simple word of command. A 

'^ OF 

number of such little things can be 
taught to an obedient dog, but he will never 
do them with pleasure and good will unless he 
is continually with his master and imderstands 
his looks and signs. Allowed to be away from 
home all day, he will lose interest in these tricks. 



It is in sonic such way that a dog is taught 
to "fetch," — a lesson so important for some 
sporting dogs, rec[uiring, as it does, so many 




C.ARKFIL 
OF G 



Ke.\1)V T(.i oi;i;v UuuEKi 

preliminary exercises. At the word of com- 
mand, " fetch," every young dog will seize very 
eagerly a ball or a handkerchief thrown to a 
certain distance. Will he bring it back .' It is 
exactly here that we must proceed with much 
patience and reflection. In the first 
place, the distance ought to be 
short and the dog should be 
fastened to a long string. 
A still better way is to 
make him sit before )'ou 
Inkling articles (not too 
lit) in his mouth, and 
make him drop them at 
the word of command. 
Later he can be trained 
to pick up such articles at 
distance and bring them 
back at the command. Much 
success has come from using a 
ece of wood provided with small 
weights at each end, which can be 
taken off or put on b}' means of a 
peg, so that the article can be weighted at will ; 
the wood should have small transverse pieces 
to keep it from lying flat on the ground, thereby 
making it more difficult for the animal to pick 
up. Sporting dogs, trained by the excellent 




64 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



method of Oberlander, have always received 
their first lessons with this article. 

If persons play with an animal and neglect 
to use, very precisely, the different commands 
and gestures to which he is accustomed, he 
will soon perceive that the thin 
not serious, and their influence 
upon him will be lost. If 
children play with a 
young dog that is being 
trained, and make 
him fetch things 
without taking 
them and without 
praising him, that 
dog will nevei 
answer readily to 
a command. Sever 
ity, exactitude, and 
patience are the con 
ditions of success It 
is not necessary to whip 
a dog ; at most, a shght 
touch with a switch may b 
given in case of ill will or negli 
gence. The dog understands per- charging .a 
fectly a stern reprimand or a shake ixg it 

given to the rope ; if he does not 
understand, it is useless to go on training him. 
Pets and small fry of that kind are incapable 
of being taught to fetch. They can merely do 
the pretty thing, — give a paw, pretend death, 
etc. Sporting dogs, on the 
contrary, are useful ; they 
will search for lost objects, no 
matter how small they are, 
and find them among bushes 
or in sand. " Seek ! Lost ! " 
is enough to start a well- 
trained dog on a search at 
once. Nevertheless, to reach 
this result and to make the 
animal couch before the game 
when the shot is fired requires 
many months of training 
according to fixed rules. Pleasure dogs can be 
taught to limp, to fetch the newspaper, and to 
perform other similar tricks ; but they will 




never have the strength of a circus dog, who 
can balance himself on a bottle or on a man's 
head, make the "perilous leap," turn somer- 
saults, dance, shoot, and ride a bicycle as if he 
had never done anything else. All this seems 
extremely difficult, as in fact it is ; 
but the credit belongs to the 
trainer only, to his patience 
and his judgment. It is 
true that he chooses the 
most intelligent dogs, 
oftenest poodles, but 
the innumerable 
lessons which in- 
evitably precede 
exhibition are 
essential. The dog 
may not possess in- 
tellect, so called, but 
he has a good memory 
and a strong love for a 
ame. The routine once 
acquired, the exhibition, 
which should always be done in 
precisely the same order, lest the dog 
be bewildered, is sure of success. 

A few years ago the Bertrand 
brothers of Paris had a little dog 
named Papillon, who could speak. In France 
and in other countries journalists worthy of all 
confidence related the fact, which they them- 
selves had witnessed. The questions addressed 



fter brinc 
Home 




Playing Chess 

to the little animal were : " Who am I .' Do you 
love me .-' What did the people shout when the 
Russians came ? Which is the larsrest building: 



THE DOG 



65 



in Paris ? Can you count ? " The answers were 
said very clearly though a little haltingh'. The 
clog could pronounce sevent\ words. At the 
close of the exhibition he always sai 
"Adieu, Messieurs ! " Marvelous 
as it was, careful examination 
showed that there was no 
ventriloquism in it. Ther 
was one fact, however, 
which we ought not to 
omit, to save any would- 
b e imitators o f M . 
Bert rand from disap- 
pointment: Papillon's 
performances occurred at the time of the " silly 
season " in journalism, — a fact which may not 
be precisely in his favor. 

The training of watchdogs, police dogs, war 
clogs, and, in general, of all those dogs required 
to perform special services demands infinite 
patience and perseverance in making the ani- 
mal go over and over again what he has learned, 
with as little punishment as possible. Watch- 
dogs are sometimes taught to attack persons 
at the word of command. This is very danger- 
ous and cannot be tn(j highly disapproved ; it 
has already caused many misfortunes. The 
training is done by putting a straw figure 
behind a fence or hedge; the figure is moved 
by a servant, and when it is made to jump the 
hedge the door is opened and the dog is taught 
to spring upon it and hold it. But in some 
cases he bites ; and if the order is given has- 
tily, or if it is not fully understood, accidents 
happen. This proceeding should never be 
taught to any but old dogs whom we can abso- 
lutelv trust, — dogs who do not run much at 




large and are perfectly safe among their own 
surroundings. It is well to state here that if 
a dog comes at }<)U with an evident inten- 
tion to attack and bite, it is dangerous 
to defend yourself with a cane or 
umbrella, which will only make 
him more furious. If you 
want to save the calves of 
your legs, it is better to let 
1 bite the cane or the 
umbrella, and hit him 
with your fist as hard as 
you can on the nasal 
bone. He will let go 
immediately and run away. 

While giving dogs good habits it is well to 
break them of bad ones. IVIanv dogs will "naw 



1:1/1; tAlTU 








^^^^Ig 


■1^ 


*l£SZLC 




w. 










•>^';;'^7^^^ ■ • '^ 





\\ II K I III .Sllc p I 1^1 



Rktrikvinc 1-kom Till-; Ki\i:r 

furniture and carpets, but this annoyance will 
cease if, from time to time, they are given 
bones to gnaw. They should be sternly for- 
bidden to lie on chairs and sofas. This can be 
pre\ented at night b\' laying the chairs 
on their sides and putting hard things 
'in the sofa. A dog who begs at the 
table is also very annoying. He ought 
not to be allowed to enter the room dur- 
ing dinner, or, if he is, should be tied in 
Mime corner that belongs to him. The 
leaps he makes in his joy at going out 
\\ ith his master are often prejudicial to 
the coat and trousers of the latter, espe- 
cially in rainy weather. It will usually 



66 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 





A Difficult Feat which 
REQUIRES Long Practice 



Circus Training 

suffice to take 
him by the two 
front paws and 
make him walk 
backward on 
his hind paws. 
That will cure 
him of his de- 
sire to leap upon 
you in future. 

XIV. Bench 

Shows and 
Competitions 

Bench shows, 
which are really 
a subdivision of 
sport with dogs, 
are among the 
most important 
things for a 
breeder. That 
which attracts 
or ought to at- 
tract thither 



the amateur 
breeder is not 
so much the 
chance of car- 
rying off prizes 
as the honor 
and satisfaction 
of seeing them 
won by animals 
he has bred 
himself. 

The first 
canine bench 
show took place 
iniSsgat New- 
castle-upon- 
Tyne. Although 
only pointers 
and setters were 
shown, it was 
an exhibition 
very superior 
to the dog sales 
hitherto organized by dealers at the inns, where 
visitors (mostly coachmen) did business and 
drank brandy together. In 1 860 the great bench 
show at Birmingham took place ; this was fol- 
lowed by many others, not very large ones, it 
is true, but held under the stern control of the 
English Kennel Club and the best known ex- 
perts, who now make a business of it and form 
the jury of awards. The great English bench 
shows — those of the said club, for instance — 
last three days and are attended by thousands 
of paying visitors, who can thus review from 
one thousand to fifteen hundred dogs. 

In France the first bench show took place 
in May, 1863, at the Jardin des Plantes. 
The committee was formed of the members 
of the Jockey Club, and the cost of the show 
was paid by subsidies from the railways, the 
city of Paris, and Baron Rothschild. The prizes 
given amounted to three thousand dollars, 
which was certainly a good send-off. Later 
there were several shows every year. Those 
which are now held in France, usually lasting 
three days and devoted to different races of 
doars, are considered among the best. The 



THE DOG 



67 




last great Parisian show, which was organized 
by the Socictc Ccntralc, took in daily recei]its 
of more than twent)-five hundred 
dollars. Germany has not remained 
behind, and several of its cities have 
had very successful shows, lasting 
two or three days. Belgium, thanks 
to its Royal Society of St. Hubert 
and other clubs, organizes in sum- 
mer very important shows, to which 
are sent magnificent specimens 
which attract much interest in other 
countries. The United States is 
not backward, either, in the num- 
ber or the quality of her bench 
shows, which are now annual affairs 
in many of our large cities. But it 
is generally admitted and agreed 
that Holland takes precedence of 
all other countries in the organiza- 
tion of shows, the arrangement, 
preparation, and administration of 
which (striking an outsider with 
amazement) are taken as models by 
other countries. Annual shows are 
organized in Holland by the differ- 
ent clubs, and a body of excellent 
Dutch experts, who are often in- 
vited to other countries to judge 
of indigenous races (the German 
watchdogs, the Russian wolf- 
hounds, and the Ensjlish mastiffs, 



for instance), prove that these dog 
not for the mere amusement of d( 



shows are 
LT fanciers, 




68 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Dog trying to cross the Frontier with 
Contraband Goods 

but that serious studies of a scientific nature 
are also made there. 

To the uninitiated a dog show has some- 
thing disconcerting. The deafening racket, 
the swarming of dogs and men, 
the enigmatical placarding of 
prizes, the long inspections, are 
bewildering and hard to under- 
stand. In consequence of the 
division into " open classes " 
(meaning those in which all 
dogs may compete), "limited 
classes " (for those who have 
already won a number of first 
prizes), and "young classes," 
a dog may carry off a first prize 
in one class and obtain only an 
H. M. (honorable mention) in 
another class, which certainly 
makes the placarding very 
puzzling. 

The estimate of a dog is 
sometimes very difficult, espe- 
cially when two superb speci- 
mens are competing for the 



prize, which is sometimes a medal or 
money, but oftener some fine work 
of art. It is difficult also to satisfy 
the owners (who are very susceptible 
even about trifles). It is not yet 
decided whether the system of three 
experts would give better results, or 
whether it would be wise to return 
to the old scale of points and figures. 
There is much to be said on both 
sides, but it is certain that the tastes 
and opinions of experts give rise to dif- 
ferences that are sometimes far from 
agreeable to the owners of the dogs. 

Are bench shows injurious to the 
animals ? No ; not if they are well 
organized and under the auspices 
of a serious club. Dogs are well 
treated, visited by veterinarians, fed 
and transported carefully, and re- 
turned in good health to their homes. 
On their return it is prudent to wash 
them with some suitable disinfectant, 
though at all good bench shows dogs are now 
disinfected very carefully. Dogs under three 
months old are too young to be sent to these 
exhibitions. 




A Promising Young Dog 



THE DOG 



69 




Dfxoratf.I) with Champion's 
Cross 



Besides the prizes in medals, 
mone}', or works (>f art, the title 
of "champion " can be obtained, 
though of course such distinc- 
tion is awarded only to stars of 
the first magnitude. The late 
Queen Victoria gave a cross to 
a dog (not exhibited), and that 
decoration was no other than 
the famous Victoria Cross. It 
was given in 1 879, after the war 
in Afghanistan. The dog (his 
name was Bob) made the cam- 
paign with the second regi- 
ment, the Royal Berkshire, and was wounded. 
His portrait appears in the celebrated picture of 
"The Fight of the Last Eleven at Mai wand." 
A dog named Jack also received the Victoria 
Cross for saving several lives at the 
battle of the Alma. Jerry, another 
dog of the Crimean War, received a 
medal and a dinner from the city of 
Dublin. 

The transportation of dogs to all 
bench shows should be made in 
baskets, securely fastened, or, better 
still, in light, well-ventilated cases, in 
which water can be supplied to the 
animal without the necessity of open- 
ing the case or basket. A dog can 
travel two or three days without e.xtra 
food, but he must have fresh water supplied 
to him at various stations. Though a dog should 
never be fastened in his traveling case or bas- 
ket, lest he should strangle himself with n>|)e 
or strap, it is best to put on a collar 
and chain when he reaches his des 
tination among strangers. In 
general, railway rules and regu- 
lations for the transportation of 
dogs leave much to be desired ; 
the charges are very high, and are 
often based on ridiculous reasons. 

In Germany a particular sort of 
competition has been established, 
in which bassets hunt foxes and 
badgers along subterranean pas- 
sages. These competitions, much Thavf.i,in(; Raskkt 



followed, esjjecially in southern 
German)', correspond some- 
what to the runs of fox terriers 
organized in France, — in the 
Bois de Boulogne, for instance, 
— which always excite great 
interest. In Belgium some peo- 
ple amuse themselves, though 
more or less in secret, b)' send- 
ing fox terriers against rats 
which are shut up in cages and 
are killed in a moment b_\- one 
bite of the dog. The trial of 
shepherd dogs, who are made 
to chase before them a given number of sheep 
on a given space or road, is of a more peace- 
ful character, but not less interesting and amus- 
ing. Now and then in connection with shows 





Tn.wELiNG Cage 

there are races of harnessed dogs, sometimes 
a procession of the prize winners, and at still 
other times a parade of packs of hounds, with 
their huntsmen in scarlet coats making a noisy 
hullabaloo with their horns ; occasion- 
ally there are dog races conducted 
b}- children ; all of which is amusing 
for the exhibitors and for the 
public. Of late the continent of 
Europe no longer takes part in 
the English bench shows, and vice 
\ersa, owing to the rigorous quaran- 
tine enforced against foreign dogs 
at English ports, which renders 
importation impossible for sports- 
men who desire merely to exhibit 
their animals. 



70 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



XV. Diseases and Death of Dogs 
We have now arrived, in our rapid survey 
of the dog and his life, to the old age of that 
faithful companion who, indeed, has a right to 
be well treated to his last hour. Though old 
age begins with his ninth or tenth year, dis- 
eases may appear earlier, and whether it is 
a question of prize winning or not, his master 
is bound to study the means of curing them. 
In all books treating of the canine race a cer- 
tain number of recipes will be found ; but the 
best advice that we can offer is to send for a 
veterinarian and not attempt the treatment 
yourself. Of course, if it is merely a question 




Trained to hunt Rats 

of worms, you can safely administer the pow- 
der called kamala ; or if the dog is slightly 
wounded, you can treat him as you would 
yourself. If comphcations arise, send at once 
for the veterinarian. 

Still it is as well to have a knowledge of the 
most frequent diseases. Every one who buys 
a dog ought first to know if he has already 
had distemper {febris catarrhalis epizodticimi 
camim), for though many dogs escape it, it is a 
very general and extremely uncomfortable trib- 
ulation, and is even dangerous for young dogs. 
This disease, which is not new, for we hear of 
it in Spain in 1752, appears in about the same 
form among cats, wolves, foxes, and some 
other species of animals. It is contagious, and 
is communicated by nasal mucus and other 
deposits coming from the body of the infected 
animal ; it is also in the atmosphere and in- 



spires a natural dread in all proprietors of large 
kennels. It is most frequent in young dogs, 
older ones having had it and therefore being 
immune, but no one race of dogs is more pre- 
disposed to it than others. In ordinary cases it 
lasts from three to four weeks, and it can be 
fought as well undeveloped as symptomatically ; 
that is to say, in the germ by carbonate of soda, 
bismuth, etc., or in the symptoms by febri- 
fuges, emetics, and remedies against mucous 
and skin diseases. 

After distemper the disease most univer- 
sally known and feared is rabies (hydrophobia), 
caused by some contagious matter in the brain 
and spinal cord. It came first 
from southern Russia and 
made a circuit through Europe 
and the United States, sparing 
neither man nor beast. There 
are hundreds of cases which 
ignorant persons call rabies 
which are not that disease at 
all. It is enough to hear of one 
real case to find the number of 
imagined ones increased with 
such terrifying rapidity as to 
justify all precautions, be they 
needless or premature. This 
disease attacks no dog or other 
animal unless it has been bitten by a rabid ani- 
mal, usually a dog. Such dogs run at large and 
to great distances, biting, as they go, both men 
and animals that come in their way ; and the 
extent of the evil is incalculable if the authori- 
ties do not promptly interfere. Unfortunately, 
the order to muzzle dogs, which is nearly all 
they can do, is absolutely insufficient, because 
in spite of regulations many dogs are not muz- 
zled, and also because the muzzles that are 
officially recommended are worth nothing. It 
is strange that Philippe le Bel, king of France, 
who hated dogs and invented muzzles, did not 
make a better model than a " bag of iron wire "; 
and stranger still is it that the authorities of our 
day, who could have the advice of scientists and 
breeders, have as yet invented nothing better. 

Some mad dogs, however, never bite. Most 
of them are mute, or else they emit a low yelp ; 



THE DOG 



71 



they eat nothing but abnormal substances, 
such as splinters, stones, leather, and straw. 
The presence of such matters without other 
food in the stomach of a dog, together with 
other symptoms of rabies, indicates the true 
disease. That infected animals have a horror of 
water is a popular delusion, as is also the belief 
that the dog days in August cause the poor 
creature's madness. The dog clays are as- 
tronomically related to the dog star Sirius, 
which has its full brilliancy on the 23d of 
August and following da)'s, when it 
rises and sets with the sun 
consequently in the hottest 
part of the summer 
Romans called those 
days dies caniculans ; 
and the summer 
holidays of the 
schools were for- 
merly called fcriiC 
caniciilarcs, in 
which the dog is 
named without any 
mention of madness. 
Inflammation of 
the eyes, most fre 
quent in summer and 
caused by dust and heat, 
is a less serious trouble, which 
is successfully dealt with by purj 
ing the animal and bathing the eyes 




. , . , Driving out after 

with borax water, keeping them clean , 

' ^ ^ .AN Illness 

and dry. After cleaning them with 
warm soap and water, a salve made of ten parts 
vaseline to one part boric acid should be spread 
on the inflamed parts. The animal must then 
wear a sort of linen cap (to prevent him from 
shaking his ears) and be fed on lic]uid focxl. 

Skin diseases, by which nearly all dogs are 
tormented, are very annoying and some of 
them are contagious. An expert often finds 
difficulty in diagnosing a case by aid of the 
microscope, on account of the infinite number 
of different parasites that may have caused the 
disease and will certainly aggravate it. There- 
fore, as soon as an eruption appears, and red 
spots or even little pimples are seen, especially 



on the abdomen, the breast, or the pit of the 
fore legs, send immediately for the veterinarian, 
and while waiting for him apply a wash of creolin 
diluted with much water, — a five per cent solu- 
tion. Excellent remedies against the mange are 
now to be had, salves that have cured very 
virulent eruptions. Therefore it is best not 
to give up hope too soon, though a dog thus 
afflicted is horrible to see. 

Dogs also suffer from toothache ; therefore, 
strange as it may seem, it is a good plan to 
inspect and clean their teeth thoroughly 
om time to time. The worms 
with which all dogs are tor- 
mented are easily driven 
ut b)- a \ermifuge, 
especially if they are 
solitary worms. The 
case is more serious 
when it concerns 
the tcEuia ecliino- 
: occiis (tapeworm), 
which can be con- 
veyed to human 
beings. F"or this 
reason, wherever 
dogs are kept, the fol- 
owing precept should 
be rigorously enforced : 
Never use the plates, dishes, 
etc., which a dog has licked with- 
out carefully cleansing them ; never 
allow him to lick the face of any one, 
especially a child, and wash your 
hands at once if they have happened to come 
in contact with a dog's saliva. It is unnecessary, 
as in all other helminthic cases, to say, Remem- 
ber our advice, sold for the veterinarian. 

If the disease is incurable, or if the dog is 
too old to move about, put an end to his 
sufferings. Let whoever lo\es his dog give 
him a quick and easy death if life becomes a 
burden to him. 

Surgical operations can sometimes be per- 
formed successfully, veterinary science having 
attained a degree of development which must 
be to the benefit of the dog as well as to that 
of other animals. But when all remedies are 



72 OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 

useless let a well-directed shot put an end to Experience proves that death from this mask 

his sufferings. A mask that we cannot too is instantaneous. An asphyxiating apparatus 

highly recommend has been invented for this is also warmly recommended by the veteri- 

purpose. It consists of a very strong muzzle narians, and deserves attention. How can we 

to which is fastened a pistol of peculiar con- hesitate to use some one of such methods 

struction, which can be moved about until when they enable us to do a last kind service 

it reaches the exact point above the eyes, to the friend of man ? 




II 

THE CAT 



I. Its Antiquity 

The cat, which is to-day, with the clog, the 
domestic animal par cxcclhiicc, had its epoch of 
glory in past ages, when the ancient Egyptians 
declared it sacred, when a city called Bubastis 
was dedicated to its race, when the goddess 
Bast (or Pasche) had the head of a cat, when 
the bodies of cats were made into mummies, 
and when whoever killed a cat was severely 
punished. That was the golden age of cats ; 
and although their city, placed between the 
two arms of the Nile above the present town 
of Ben-el-Asi (on the line of the Cairo railway), 
is now a frightful mass of ruins, thousands of 
pilgrims — Herodotus speaks of seven hundred 
thousand — once went there annually to the fes- 
tivals established in honor of cats. At Cairo 
a vestige of this veneration still remains, for 
lately a large sum of money was provided for 
the feeding of hungry cats ; and the pilgrims 
to Mecca are still accompanied by a "Mother 
of Cats" or " Father of Cats," charged with 
the care of a certain number of these animals 
during the pilgrimage. 

Among the Greeks and Romans also the cat 
enjoyed a very great reputation, especially after 
the rat (nius rattiis), coming probably from Asia, 
made its way into the dwellings and granaries 
of Europe. The Norsemen introduced it into 
their mythology, for two of these animals draw 
the chariot of the goddess Fridja. This venera- 
tion lasted into the Middle Ages, at which period 



there was exhibited at Aix in Provence the 
handsomest male cat that could be procured ; 
it was dressed as a baby, and seated in a mag- 
nificent armchair, where all believers solemnly 
worshiped it as the Elected One. 

But after a while the glory of cats began to 
tarnish. They came to be regarded as evil 
doers, and every sorcerer and sorceress was 
accompanied by a cat — preferably a black one. 
This change was naturally not to their com- 
fort. They were still tolerated here and there, 
and even in the churches. In Saxony, for in- 
stance, nuns were forbidden to have any other 
animals ; but elsewhere, in Metz, for example, 
they were publicly burned by the dozen at the 
festival of St. John. In the Flemish town of 
Spres it was long the custom to fling them 
from the top of a lofty tower on the " Wednes- 
day of the Cats "; and though it is said that a 
cat always falls on her feet, there were many 
sad exceptions to the rule on those day!;. The 
" Wednesday of the Cats " always fell in the 
second week of Lent; this custom dated from 
the year 962, when Baldwin III, Count of 
Flanders, established it as an annual celebra- 
tion. In I 23 I the tower of Lakenhal was fin- 
ished and the cats were thrown from there as 
well as from the tower of the old castle. In 
1674 the custom was abolished, but it was 
restored in 1714; and it is said that cats were 
still being hurled from the towers of Spres in 
1868. 



74 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



It is not known how this animal first came 
to Europe. It is certain that before the Middle 
Ages it was already domesticated, but not ex- 
clusively for hunting rats and mice, because 
half-tamed weasels fastened to a chain were 
still used for that purpose. Its small size and 
gentle and insinuating 
manners probably 
helped to open the 
doors of houses to this 
always rather rapa- 
cious animal. At some 
period in the world's 
history before our era 
the cat was tamed, 
at any rate certainly 
before it came to 
Europe. It could not 
have been a slight 
matter to tame a race 
naturally so wild and 
sly ; the honor prob- 
ably belongs to that 
ancient Egyptian peo- 
ple, so strange and 
yet so interesting, the 
building of whose gigantic works is lost in the 
night of time. Thus we can only feel our way 
in the darkness when we try to discover the 
relations of that people with savage or half- 
savage animals. 

The domestic cat differs too much from the 
wild cat, still existing, to enable us to draw 
conclusions from this domestication. The wild 
cat exists as the domestic cat does, but the 
link between them escapes our knowledge com- 
pletely. There is a species of cat, the Nubian 
cat, met with in the north of Africa, the shape 
of whose skull has a strong resemblance to that 
of the domestic cat ; and possibly it might 
form a bridge over the abyss made by the 
question of the descent of cats. In the opinion 
of several learned men the Nubian cat was re- 
lated to the ancient Egyptian cat. He is small, 
and the mummied cats of Egypt, discovered 
here and there, were a small species. The 
Nubian cat is easy to domesticate, though it is 
still rare in Europe. Its color (an important 




Blue-White, Long- 

From painting 



factor in distinguishing cats) is a tawny gray 
or yellow, becoming lighter on the flanks and 
white on the stomach. It has transversal black 
stripes, and on the neck similar stripes run- 
ning longitudinally. The tail has three black 
rings, and the tip is also black. 

In certain parts of 
Germany another 
species of wild cat is 
found that commits 
great ravages among 
feathered and furry 
game when he ven- 
tures to quit the for- 
ests. This species, 
which is larger and 
more square in shape 
than the domestic cat, 
is of a dark color, 
except on the throat, 
which is spotted with 
white. The cat of the 
steppes, though do- 
mesticated here and 
there in Siberia, may 
be regarded as half 
wild on account of its savage and combative 
nature. The cat was, therefore, probably intro- 
duced into Europe completely tamed from the 
south and southeast ; but it has never been 
generally valued like the dog. There are even 
regions in the north of Germany where its life 
is not safe ; it is in this country, in France, 
England, and the south of Europe that it is 
most valued. A predilection for dogs is sel- 
dom accompanied with much sympathy for 
cats, and vice versa. 

Yet many famous personages, Mohammed, 
for example, have held them in affection. One 
day a cat of his was sleeping on the skirt of his 
sacerdotal garment when the signal for prayer 
was given from the cupola of the mosque ; the 
prophet, whose duty it was to rise and go to 
perform that ceremony, cut off the skirt of his 
garment that he might not wake the animal. 
Richelieu was also a great friend of cats. Col- 
bert never worked without putting one or two 
on his table ; as soon as they began to purr he 



Haired Male Cat 
by E. Landor 




Persian Cat. " Sii.vkuv Jkssamixi; ' 
I'rnm planting by K. I.andor 



76 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



thought his work went easier. A Shah of 
Persia, who bred a great many cats in his 
palace, always ate from the same plate with 
one of them. Lord Chesterfield, the English 
poet Elliott, Sardou, Massenet, and Pierre Loti 
are known for their love of cats. A tale told 
of a Bernese artist, Gottfried Mind, called the 
" Raphael of cats," is curious and strictly true. 
During his whole life he devoted his attention 
to cats, studying them daily for hours, and 
portraying all their habits and ways ; he took 
no interest in any other subject or person. 
About all else his thoughts were vague and 
even silly in old age, but about cats he showed 
true knowledge. When he died, in 1814, his 
features had acquired^ a sort of feline character. 

It is by no means rare to meet with 
persons who resemble cats. It was 
predicted to a king of Persia th; 
he would triumph in war if his 
armies were commanded by a 
cat-faced man. The man was 
found and victory perched upon 
his banners. Popular supersti- 
tion asserts that the blood of 
a cat, drunk to cure epilepsy, 
infuses a feline nature, so that 
the patient will ever after hunt 
rats and mice. But those who 
have eaten cats, sold under 
the name of rabbit, have not 
shown this propensity. Mme. Henriette Ron- 
ner, nee Knip, at Amsterdam, where her father 
was an artist, is a celebrated lover of cats. 
Since her marriage she has lived in Brussels. 
Her superb pictures of animals, in which cats 
play a chief part, are known the world over. 
In 1887 she received the Order of Leopold 
from the king of the Belgians. 

The cat's relations with man are not as close 
and intimate as those of the dog ; this may be 
because of the fact that the animal is less fit- 
ted to accompany him everywhere, or perhaps 
because it is less fully tamed. It bristles up 
far too much, and is still distrustful and sus- 
picious. The warm friends of the cat may 
perhaps take its part, but every one must 
agree that it shows its claws a little too hastily, 




Cat of Bubastis, Axxient Egypt 



a custom which is not likely to promote a 
more extended acquaintance. 

The stealthy, imperceptible step of the cat, 
extremely cautious and slow, differs from the 
noisy joy with which the dog, and even the 
horse, greets his master. Its eyes are beautiful, 
but there is something enigmatical in them ; 
moreover, the attachment of most cats is more 
to the house than to its inhabitants. But if 
we weigh these peculiarities, that are more or 
less agreeable, against the really good qualities 
of the cat, we shall find the balance in 
its favor ; which explains why per- 
sons of superior minds so often 
feel attracted to it. The more 
they learn to know it, and the more 
they treat it kindly and sensibly, the 
less the savage traits of the crea- 
ture's ancestors come out. The ap- 
proach to friendliness ought not to 
be made by one side only, but the first 
steps should be taken by the one that 
has most intelligence. If the cat is the 
first to present a paw, the sharp claws 
will be shown at the same time ; but 
if the man holds out a caressing hand, 
the velvet paw is advanced, cau- 
tiously, it is true, but unarmed. 
Let us observe this paw a lit- 
tle closer, and also the eyes 



and the cry of the animal. 



II. The Paws, Eyes, and Cry of the Cat 
The cat walks on its toes, like the lion, the 
tiger, and the other species of animals of the 
same class. It has five toes on the fore feet 
and four toes on the hind feet. The claws, 
nevertheless, remain sharp because whenever 
the cat runs or walks on hard ground they 
are drawn up into the articulations and never 
touch the earth. A certain muscle darts them 
forth as soon as the cat thinks it has need of 
defending itself, or when it loses its equilib- 
rium and is in danger of falling. The claws 
being thus drawn in and the paws being 
covered with fur, its movements are imper- 
ceptible, even upon oilcloth, resulting disas- 
trously to many a mouse. 



J 



THE CAT 



// 



On the other hand, if the approach of the 
cat is not heard, its eyes betray its presence, 
especially in the dark. Yet they are not lan- 
terns that shed light ; their brilliancy is only 
the reflection of luminous rays that strike upon 
them. The vascular membrane is covered 
with a reflecting filmy tissue, which pro- 
duces, especially at night, when the pupil 
is most dilated, a sparkling brilliancy. In 
daylight the pupil is seen only through 
a slit, which widens at nightfall. Certain 
of the Eastern nations use their cats as 
chronometers, though they are begin- 
ning to find out that clocks are surer 
things. The cat sees very distinctly in 
the darkness, a quality it has in common 
with many nocturnal creatures, including 
birds. By day it distinguishes many 
things better than the dog ever does. 

The color of the eyes varies with age. Young 
cats have gray eyes, while later they usually 
turn yellow or some other tint. We shall speak 
presently, apropos of races, of white cats with 
gray eyes, whose deafness has attracted the 
attention of scientific men like Darwin and 
Schinz, and still gives food for discussion. 

We have just called the cat a nocturnal 
animal ; it certainly prefers to seek adventures 
at night, which it makes hideous, especially 
during the months of F"ebruary and March, 
with its discordant caterwaulinsrs, callincr for 



HAi.i-\Vn,n BcRMAii Cat 

Fruin painting by E. I,and(.r 

a mate on garden walls and roofs. It is said 
that the cat owes its predilection for roofs to 
Noah and his ark. A couple of cats saved 
therein, having violated the restrictions imposed 
on appetite (the ark being short of provisions), 



were condemned to espouse their loves on the 
roof onl\- during the months of February and 
March but with free permission to fight and claw 
and caterwaul as much as they pleased. Not 
long ago an attempt was made in London to 





SU-NNIN 

lessen, by means of automatic tomcats, this noc- 
turnal racket, which had become very annoying, 
especially in the northern part of the city. A cat 
was made of iron wire and cement and covered 
with a real cat's skin and fur. To increase the 
effect, glass eyes made luminous by an electric 
batten' were added, the battery also conveying 
some motion to the limbs. The resemblance 
was striking. When the tail was touched the 
beast began to growl, and at the same instant 
long pointed needles started out from the skin, 
two capsules exploded in the mouth, and a 
formidable noise was heard within. 

This contrivance produced the happiest 
result on the very first night it was placed 
in position. A real tomcat arrived, accom- 
panied by four friends. The company placed 
themselves around the automaton, which 
remained, of course, perfectly calm and un- 
moved. Soon the real tomcat lost patience. 
He used his claws to incite his mute adver- 
sary to anger, and presently attacked him. 
Then the sham cat got his innings. The 
capsules exploded, the eyes glared, the 
needles darted out and stuck their points into 
the paws of the aggressor, and the garden was 
purged of cats for over a month. 

The purring of cats, which resembles the 
whir of a spinning wheel, is to human ears an 



78 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



expression of their contentment. It is supposed 
that the sound is formed in the larynx near 
the vocal cords, and it is supposed to be a sign 
of health and vigor, old cats being less inclined 
to purr. 

III. The Fur, the Sensitiveness, and the 
Presentiments of Cats 

The race of cats has but two species of fur, 
long and short. So far breeders have not 
applied artificial propagation sufficiently (as 
they have with dogs) to increase the number 
of colors and shades trans- 
mitted by means of heredity ; 
but in countries where there 
is a commerce in cat skins 
they take pains to mate cats 
having heavy fur. The growth 
of fur can be artificially pro- 
duced without following the 
example of a man who put a 
mother cat into one of his ice 
houses. The kittens came 
duly into the world, and 
the excessive cold to 
which they had been ex- 
posed produced a most 
luxuriant fur, but they 
finally became such thick 
round balls of hair that 
it was impossible for 
them to move about. 

If breeders pay a lit- 
tle attention to the fur 

of their cats, the cats themselves do all they 
can to keep it in good condition. They are, in- 
deed, obliged to do so, since it not only protects 
them but serves as 2^ feeler. The hairs of the 
mustache especially are very sensitive, and so 
are the nerves with which they communicate. 
Every cat has from twenty-five to thirty hairs 
in its beard, arranged in four lines, the two mid- 
dle lines being the longest. At each side of the 
head there are likewise some sensitive hairs, 
which have their roots in Httle protuberances. 
The hairs inside the ear are also sensitive. 
The whole pelt in fact shows a high degree of 
sensitiveness when rubbed the wrong way, — 



a treatment evidently very disagreeable to the 
animal, though it has to submit to it when its 
owner desires to show how much electricity it 
gives forth. 

It is well, however, not to form too high an 
estimate of the electricity of cats. In very dry 
countries, for instance, among high mountains, 
human hair, when rubbed, will give out plenty 
of electric sparks visible in the darkness. In 
fact, in such altitudes we have often seen the 
gas lighted by a touch of the finger after 
approaching the fixture from the end of the 
room, rubbing the feet (in 
thin shoes) along a thick 
carpet without lifting them. 
The fur of a badger and of 
several other animals, if per- 
fectly dry, warm, and rubbed 
energetically, will convey 
electricity to any conduct- 
ing medium. The fur of a 
cat, already more or less 
dried by the bodily heat 
of the animal, emits 
^^^^^ electricity if ex- 

^^^^Sk posed to the sun 

^^g j^ and then rubbed 

^BSBSSr'."; "rfft^; by the hand in a 
dark place ; but 
that same pelt, 
when taken from 
the animal and pre- 
pared and dried, 
Midday .„ • ,, 

will give the same 

result. Therefore it is not the cats but their 
pelts, and those of all thick furry animals, which 
emit electricity under certain favorable circum- 
stances. Tigers show the same phenomenon. 

Cats feel much discomfort at the coming 
of a storm, and there is probably some con- 
nection between the atmosphere, charged with 
"electricity, and their fur. Perhaps their sensi- 
tiveness to atmospheric changes may be one of 
the causes why they show such distress, espe- 
cially when young, during a rain storm. Some 
are seen to show extreme terror during an 
earthquake, but that is a feeling they share 
with other animals. 




I 



THE CAT 



79 



IV. Sympathies and Antipathies 
Why does the cat feel such hatred to 
the whole mouse tribe ? No one knows ; 
but there must be some extraordinary 
and terrible cause for such eternal ani- 
mosit)-. In past ages rats and mice must 
undoubtedly have done some great injury 
to the feline race. Perhaps, in earlier 
times, the rat may have been able to 
attack his enemy with success ; if not, 
in the great struggle for existence going 
on perpetually in the animal kingdom 
ever since the creation, those rodents, 
always conquered by the cat, would 
surely have disappeared. A cat watch- 
ing a mouse and knowing its hiding 
place crouches where its victim cannot 
see it, and never moves a hair till the 
favorable moment comes ; then with one 
bound to right or left, or sometimes 
backward, all is over for the little beast. 
Even if a cat is asleep, no mouse can 
with safety pass either before or behind 
it, which says much for its sense of hearint 
Lenz, the naturalist, says that a cat will catc 





Six in tiik Evkninc 



Ti:\ .\T NiCiHT 

and swallow twenty mice a day, — seventy- 
three himdred a year. 

If puss}' has a mouse in view, no power 
on earth can turn her from her murderous 
projects. One evening, as a family was 
sitting in a small parlor, their cat, a fat 
and well-fed beast, made one spring from 
his place before the fire and disappeared 
beneath a piece of heavy furniture, which 
(being afterwards exactly measured) was 
only two and a half inches from the 
floor. The body of the cat, l)ing flat, 
measured from seven to eight inches. 
The family in consternation rushed to 
deliver its pet from so strange a situation. 
Even his intimate friend, the greyhound, 
stretched a paw under the sideboard to 
reach him, when lo and behold! he re- 
appeared, calm and conscious of victory, 
with a mouse in his mouth. Other ani- 
mals possess this power of shrinking 
their bodies ; mice themselves can get 
through the narrowest slit, but it is cer- 
tainly no slight thing for a body of seven 
or eight inches in height to rush through 



8o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Apparently Asleep, but watching a Mouse 



a space 
speed of 



two and a half inches wide with the 
an express train. 




Dangerous Situation for the Cockatoo 



As for their sympathies, they are chiefly 
influenced by warmth and sunlight. Some 
years ago the present king of 
England, then Prince of Wales, 
walking one day in the streets 
of London with his tutor, made 
a bet with the latter as to who 
would count the greatest num- 
ber of cats, each to take one 
side of the street. Presently 
the tutor had counted a dozen, 
while the prince had not seen 
one, he having chosen the shady 
side of the street, and all the 
cats were on the other side 
basking in the sun. 

The whole feline race seems 
to have a predilection for the 
odor of certain plants, among 
others catnip, mint, and vale- 
rian, which certainly exercise 
some sort of magnetism upon 
them. In Germany these herbs 
are often used to attract and 
capture destructive wild cats. 
According to Blasius, mint in- 
toxicates cats, after exciting 
them to frenzied gayety. When 
an animal thus overstimulated 
is put with calmer comrades, 
the latter will instantly catch 



THE CAT 



H 



a little of the same mad gaj-et}'. They rub 
against each other until the whole troop works 
itself into such a state of intoxication that the 
fete usually ends in a fight. 

The sympathy, or rather the affection, of 
these animals is given more to the house than 
to its owner, which does not, how- 
ever, preclude instances where cats 
have been as greatly attached to their 
masters as sunie dogs have been. 
Perty tells us of a cat falling into 
despair at the death of her master, 
refusing all nourishment and d\'ing 
three days after him. Who knows if 
cats would not have given to their 
masters the affection they now bestow 
upon localities, if man had constrained 
them, as he has dogs, to serve him 
and keep him company ? Perhaps in 
time this progress may come about. 

It is impossible to deny that serious 
misunderstandings exist between cats 
and birds. Any one who has seen a 
cat watching and attacking an inno- 
cent robin feels indignant at such cruelty ; but 
that fault may be easily corrected by simply 
taking a bird in your hand and making it peck 



her room in Buckingham Palace, did not know 
the simple scheme we have just mentioned, or 
she would not have so sternly forbidden the pres- 
ence of cats in any part of her various palaces. 
Some cats are ven,' fond of horses and pra- 
ter to sleep in stables, occasi(inall\' nn the bac ks 





IciLKR.VNCE 

the cat's nose. In seed and grain shops, where 
birds are also kept and sold, the latter are never 
molested by the cats that are kept in the shop 
to protect the grain from mice. The late queen 
of England, who liked to have birds flying about 



0\ riii. \\'ai( II 

of their friends. Others live on very good terms 
with the dogs of the household, though some 
dogs are trained, especially in Germany, to 
strangle cats, whose days are infallibly num- 
bered when their enemy appears. Bassets when 
trained, even while puppies, will kill cats with 
remarkable rapidity ; but old cats will take the 
defensive, growl, hiss, and put up their backs, 
and, if the occasion is favorable, will fling them- 
selves upon the dog with all claws out. Then, 
if the dog is not trained, he loses an eye and 
part of his skin ; but if he has been taught to 
strangle, he seizes the cat instantly by the 
throat or the nape of its neck and issues vic- 
torious from the combat. A cat's method of 
attack clearly reveals its savage origin ; all 
other members of the feline race, tigers among 
them, always spring on the back of their prey 
if possible. 

V. Gene.\logv of Cats 

As we have already said, the breeding of cats 
of pure race is not done on the vast scale em- 
ployed in the case of other domestic animals. 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Nevertheless, there is a species of genealogy 
kept for cats, quite seriously and in due form, 
especially in England. The National Cat Club 
and the Northern Counties Cat Club, among 
others, are societies composed princi 
pally of cat lovers and amateurs, 
several members of which 
belong to the British 
aristocracy. These 
societies, working 
according to very 
precise rules, 
organize exhibi- 
tions, establish 
championships, 
promote the 
breeding of pure 
races exclusively, 
and spend much 
money in so 
doing. Whatever 
may be thought 
of such a fancy, 
as soon as com- 
merce and indus- 
try draw profits 
from an innocent 
mania we cannot but approve it. Besides, it 
contributes to protect, support, and succor 
this particular animal in its struggle for ex- 
istence, thus lending a hand to the progress 




Little Miscreants 



of civilization. The late Queen Victoria said 
a true word on this point : " No civilization is 
complete which does not include the dumb and 
defenseless of God's creatures." 

This English rearing of cats has its 
nvn reasons ; nevertheless, it 
will not readily cross the At- 
lantic with its rules and 
;ulations, and take 
not in the United 
States. It will be 
long before a very 
noble lady in Am- 
erica will distrib- 
ute with her own 
hand prizes for 
cats at a cat show. 
Yet that very 
thing happened 
lately in England, 
and the prizes 
were not mere 
pounds and shil- 
lings, but objects 
of art in precious 
metals. But to 
win these prizes 
the breeder, man or woman, must exhibit cats of 
the finest and purest races, and this demands 
a great expenditure of time and money, and 
also a certain amount of scientific knowleds;e. 




Spanish Cat of Three Colors 



THE CAT 



83 



Mischances of 
color and blood 
cause many a 
vexation to the 
breeder, while 
climate and the 
very incomplete 
knowledge now 
possessed in 
regard to the 
breeding of these 
animals, based on 
the principle of 
race, play him 
ni a n \- an e \' i 1 
trick. One curi- 
ous and remark- 
able fact is that 
the best colors 
are obtained by 
the mating of cats 
of two w h o 1 1 )• 
different colors. 




LoNG-H.MKKn Cat in Foi'R Colors - 
White, Brown, asd Blue 
This eat is exceptional 



They also e.xist in Cairo, Constanti- 
nople, Rome, and Geneva. In Geneva 
a society is formed to feed the in- 
numerable \agranl cats of that city. 

\T. R.\CKS OF C.\TS 

It is not more difficult to distin- 
guish the races of cats than the races 
of dogs. In each country there is lit- 
tle difference, but the \'arieties are 
numerous. It is 
very difficult to 
IdUow the cross- 
ings, and there 
can be no such 
thing as the true 
breeding of cats 
unless the ani- 
mals are, like 
dogs in kennels, 
watched, fed, and 
kept confined; 
otherwise it is not 



B1..ACK, 



Hfeb^ 






^\t» 



The cat show does e.xist in America, though possible to keep the races pure. Yet all persons 
not on the same scale as in England. The who attempt to raise cats for sale and e.xhibi- 
American exhibitions are often well attended tion must be able to distinguish and define 
and are supported by subscription. In Ger- the breeds accurately. In the case of cats 
many and Austria almost no interest is taken coming fi^ 1 i :-' ' Is and from certain isolated 
in the matter ; in Holland and Belgium 
exhibitions of cats are very rare. Yet in 
certain cities of every country we find per- 
sons who push their passion for cats to 
excess ; generally, it must be said, they 
are elderly dames, who establish asylums 
where neglected, lost, or sick cats may 
find a refuge. Sometimes these asylums 
are organized in a practical and sufficient 
manner, in which case the motive that 
provided them is laudable ; but often the)- 
are mere nests of disease and objects of 
scandal to the neighborhood. The time 
and money spent upon them would be far 
better employed in ameliorating the con- 
dition of human beings, at least in coun- 
tries where such succor is sorely needed. T.abbies 

Still, in such large cities as New York, Boston, foreign countries, purity of race is not so ditfi- 
Chicago, and Philadelphia, where there are so cult to afifirm. Those from the Isle of Man, for 
many stray cats, such asjlums are beneficent, instance, called the Manx cats, are markedly 



84 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



different from all other species in the absence 
of tail, the smallness of the head, the extraor- 
dinary length and power of the hind legs, 
which causes them to lope like a hare or rab- 
bit rather than run, and, finally, the thickness 
of the coat, which is true fur, not hair. These 




Young White Cat 

cats are extraordinarily intelligent. The Creole 
cat of Antigua is smaller and the head longer 
than all other English species, while the Ceylon 
cat has the peculiarity of pointed ears. On 
the Cape of Good Hope the cats have singular 
red stripes along the back, while those of the 
Malay Archipela:go, Slam, and Burmah have 
according to Darwin split and 
sometimes knotted tails. In 
China their ears are pendent, 
and around Tobolsk there lives 
an indigenous cat which is en- 
tirely maroon in color. 

The separation of races being 
so difficult, color is the point 
on 'which all breeders fasten, 
although the last word has by 
no means been said on that 
subject, and many years must 
elapse before a race or a fixed 
color can be obtained by breed- 
ing with the same certainty 
and constancy as now obtains with dogs. The 
colors chiefly distinguished are white, black, 
blue, blue-gray, smoke color, orange, and tor- 
toise shell. AH these varieties of color are scat- 
tered through the two great groups, — the long 



haired and the short haired. To these groups, 
however, must be added the exotic species, 
designated under the name of the region, island, 
or country from which they come. 

If we pass the different races in review, the 
first to present itself is that of the white cats. 
The color of their eyes is a very important 
matter ; it ought not to be blue, which is 
said to be a sign of deafness. Darwin insists 
on this fact, to which, nevertheless, there 
are many exceptions. Possibly there is a 
species of albinism in these cats, and as the 
albino is always feebler than others of its 
kind, that may account for the phenomenon. 
Some white cats have red eyes, and in them 
albinism is even more marked. Their coats 
ought to be as sleek as possible. Some 
Eastern nations honor the white cat as a 
symbol of the moon. 

Black cats, of a brilliant and entire black, 
are much more rare than people think ; most 
of them have a russet tinge. They owe the 
favor they enjoy to their large size and the 
beauty of their eyes, which are generally yel- 
low, though in the long run somber colors are 
wearisome. Phantom cats, partisans of the 
devil, were all black. There was never a 
wizard or a witch without his or her black cat, 




Blue Persi.w C.4t 

which always took an active part in the prep- 
aration of philters. These phantom cats were 
especially and exuberantly gay on Wednesdays, 
the witches' day, and held noisy assemblies at 
all crossroads or on the roofs of haunted houses. 



THE CAT 



85 



The cat called the " Carthusian 
friar " is blue, with very long tine 
hair. In Holland there is a breed of 
very handsome short-haired blue cats 
which would find a great market if 
some intelligent person would under- 
take to breed them. It was our inten- 
tion to reproduce a group of them 
here, but photography was powerless 
to give an idea of the beautiful color 
of the living animal. 

Blue-gray cats, whose color is far 
from being as beautiful as that of the 
foregoing species, often have white 
patches on the breast, the paws, and 
sometimes the head. The soot-colored, 
or "tabby," cat, sometimes called the ^ Celebr.ateu T.akhv. A Prize Winner 

gray cat, is the one most frequently '^''°'" p^"'""s '^> e. Landor 

seen in our houses and gardens. Transversal greatly improve. The striped and very tall 
black stripes, sometimes black with brown Cyprus cat is universally renowned. Its stripes 
edges, encircle the legs, tail, and neck, and go are gray or black on a yellow ground, but they 
down the sides of the animal. Often these lines must be perfectly distinct. Many cats are sold 
go from the eyes to the forehead, forming sin- under the name of " Cyprus cats," in whose 




gular figures, in which (by an effort of imag- 
ination) the owner sometimes deciphers a 
monogram. Most f)f these cats, of less pure 
descent, have white patches on their heads, 
which exclude them from exhibitions. Are gray 
cats better mousers than all others ? They are 
said to be ; but if the fact 
be true, it cannot result 
from the color, because, 
as we very well know, 
" by night all cats are 
gray." 

Other gray cats that 
are almost black have 
white paws and a white 
line between the eyes. 
The blacker the cat and 
the whiter the line the 
more the animal is 
valued. The contrary, 
namely a wholly white 
body with black head 
and tail, characterizes 
the Moorish cats, a race 
which breeding would 




White Persi.xn ok Gke.at ISi-aitv 

From pciinting by E. Landor 



veins there is not a drop of Cypriot blood and 
whose ancestors never saw the island of Cyprus. 
Among the long-haired cats we meet the 
imposing Angora, white in color, with a mag- 
nificent plumed tail. There are cats of this race 
of several other colors, but breeders are en- 
deavoring to keep them 
jnire white ; and as this 
color propagates itself 
with some constancy, 
they are succeeding. 
The Angora being espe- 
cially a parlor cat, very 
sensitive to cold and 
dampness, and conse- 
cjuently delicate in con- 
stitution, their owners 
should avoid giving them 
dainties, such as tripe, 
giblets, or scraps of fish, 
since their digestion is 
upset much sooner than 
that of other cats. 

The Persian cat has 
silky hair, very long and 



86 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Blue Persian Cat 

From painting by E. Landor 

quite as handsome as that of the Angora. It 
has a mane around its neck, and usually has 
dark eyes, the sinister glare of which comes 
vividly out of its dark blue fur. By nature it is 
less sociable in western lands than in its own, 
which is not surprising, in view of the great 
difference there is between Persian households 
and ours. Angora and Persian cats are highly 
valued when they come of pure race ; but many 
young "Angoras" are sold which will not 
bear minute inspection, and the buyers may 
say with truth that they have bought a " cat 
in a poke." 

Tricolor or tortoise-shell cats are sometimes 
extremely beautiful, but perfect specimens are 
rare. They have yellow-brown and red-brown 
patches on a white ground. What experi- 
ments might be made in this field of interest- 
ing varieties of color still so little worked ! 
Cats would lend themselves to it readily, but 



much patience is needed and a vast 
establishment. If breeders would 
seriously apply themselves to the 
breeding of tricolor cats, the suc- 
cess and profit would not be long 
in coming. It is generally believed 
that the tricolor male cat is rare. 
Perhaps we here meet with one of 
those strange phenomena of color 
in relation to sex in these animals. 
We cannot now enter into details, 
but we advise those who are inter- 
ested in the breeding of cats to take 
up the study, relatively neglected 
and incomplete, of colors in ani- 
mals, and, better still, to make ex- 
periments themselves with the cats 
they own and note down the results. 
It is needless to enlarge on the 
indigenous cats of Cochin China 
and Madagascar, which have ab- 
normal tails ; or on the Siamese 
cat, a typical little beast with black 
head, legs, and tail, thick fur, and 
a brown body. In China cats are 
fattened for food, and those who 
do not disdain jugged hare can try 




Siamese Cat 

From painting by F. Landor 



THE CAT 



87 



their teeth on this breed. In 
Switzerland (not in the hotels, 
be it said) wild cats are eaten, 
especially in the mountain re- 
gions. It is easy to distinguish 
cat from hare by the shape of 
the skull, which explains why 
the head never appears on the 
table when there is an experi- 
enced chef in the kitchen. 

VII. Breeding and C.\ke 
OF Cats 
As we have already indi- 
cated, it is almost impossible 
to regulate the mating of cats 
on account of their vagabond 
habits. If kept outdoors in cages, it can be 
done ; but cats always want to get into the 
house, or to roam at large. They need move- 
ment, and must obey their natures or they 
languish and fall ill. Then, of course, 
they have to be released, and 
there 's an end to supervision 
High walls and fences w 
not prevent them, as they 
will a dog, from roaming 
off. Even when kept in 
a cage and allowed to con- 
sort with none but those 
of pure blood, they are 
very annoying and quar- 
relsome. At the slight- 
est difference of opinion 
with their masters they 
will growl and hiss and 
spit, and, if possible, will 
strike vigorous blows 01 
the face or hands of their 
owner, leaving five little red 
specks that mark the sp 
where each claw has drawn bl 

In England, however, there are now 
large "catteries," where pure-blooded 
animals are lodged, matched, and 
multiplied. The fact is, the English- 
man is a born breeder. Cats that are prepared 
to take part in exhibitions require much more 




F KM A 1.1 

•rcim painting by 



Male Angora Cat 

From painting by E. Landor 

care than dogs intended for the same purpose. 
Their wooden cages must be perfectly dry, 
raised some feet above the ground, and very 
carefully divided into compartments by means 
of iron railings. Each niche should have 
straw in winter for bedding, and 
each compartment must be sup- 
plied with a box of sawdust. 
Cages made of masonry are 
naturally the best, being 
dryer and easier to clean. 
Sliding wickets allow of 
the food being pushed in 
without disturbing the 
animal or giving it a 
chance to escape. A layer 
of peat dust placed under 
the cages, and also under 
the straw, absorbs much 
dampness, but it needs to be 
frequently changed or aired. 
The breeder for pure blood 
will not obtain satisfactory re- 
sults for some years, nor until 
he can convince himself of the 
qualities of his animals. There are 

certain iirize-winning cats with gene- 
Anoora Cat ' ^ ... 

alogical trees, which would be a joy 

to the breeder if he could get posses- 
sion of them. He could then be sure, or nearly 
sure, of the purity of the blood and of the chances 




OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



of obtaining trie color and the hair or fur that 
he wants. In any case, it is essential to mate 
cats of sound health, and to choose for father 
or mother some more or less known and admired 




Blue Cat with a very Remarkable Head 
From painting by E. Landor 

cat, a prize winner, if possible, if the speedy 
sale of kittens is an object. 

Innumerable, are the surprises in color that 
occur in spite of all precautions. The chances 
for obtaining what is desired 
are most favorable in black 
cats and white cats. The 
head should be broad 
with small ears and 
a short nose. Blue 
eyes are much in re- 
quest. Sometimes, 
but this is mere 
chance, in the litters 
of white cats a kitten 
will be found of a 
very clear light blue 
tint which is really 
superb, and brings a 
very high price. In 
England cats of pure 
blood often bring as 
much as twenty 
pounds ($ioo). 

Generally cats are 
not mated until they 
are over a year old. 
But all that we have 
hitherto said con- 
cerns those persons 




Ni'RsixG -Mother 



who desire to breed cats on a large scale for 
sale and exhibitions. The ordinary domestic 
cat is never caged. It comes and goes, keeps 
watch on the mice, gets its meals, and dis- 
appears for hours, sometimes for 
days, without notifying any one or 
asking permission. As a result of 
these escapades pussy now and again 
has kittens, to the great amusement 
of the children. 

When the critical day arrives (in 
about eight weeks) the mother cat 
finds for herself a dark and quiet 
retreat. It is well to give her an 
open basket with something soft at 
the bottom. Give her also all the 
milk she wants and a slight purga- 
tive. She produces usually from two 
to five kittens without any help. Kittens born 
in the spring are stronger and larger than those 
born in the autumn. The mother cat takes care 
of the little ones (which are born blind) herself, 
washes them, and keeps them 
and the basket clean for 
weeks, or until the little 
things can run about. 
If she has more than 
three, it is well to 
kill all over that 
number, choosing 
the weakest. On the 
tenth day they open 
their eyes, and then 
they want to see the 
world. Curiosity de- 
velops early in their 
little minds, and 
they are soon clam- 
bering out of their 
basket with many a 
fall and funny 
motion, — grace and 
clumsiness com- 
bined. 

The mother, of 
course, must be well 
fed during this time, 
or she will not have 



THE CAT 



89 



milk enough for the little ones. 

Milk, bread, a little meat (but 

never the first three days), 

and by the end of the week 

her usual food, with an ample 

supply of milk, is a good diet 

list. When the time comes to 

wean the kittens the mother 

should be taken away, and the 

kittens taught to lap sugared 

milk from a saucer ; a little 

limewater added to the milk 

is beneficial. At the end of 

five weeks, when the teeth 

have come through, a little 

soft bread should be given. 

They should be allowed to 

be in the open air as much 

as possible, to play with their 

mother, and to make acquaintance with the 

mice which she will present to them. It is 

ver_\- tlroU to see her watch their proceedings 

with that hereditary enemy. 

The maternal instinct is so strong in cats 
that they have been known to suckle puppies, 
rabbits, and even rats. In a certain stable 
was a stall in which five young rats were play- 
ing. A mother cat had five kittens, three of 
which were taken from her and drowned. 
Puss\- went to the stall, caught two of the 





CliLEBU.ATEIJ I'KKSIAN CAT, "FULMA ZaIDEF, ' 
From painting by E. Landor 



Brown Ancdka Cai (M.\li;) 

Cats are much more cleanly in their ways 
than dogs; and kittens can easily be taught 
clean habits. 

Fish, from time to time, is a great treat to 
healthy cats ; and it is well to give them either 
raw or cooked meat every day, in reason- 
able quantities. It is to be remembered that 
they feed themselves with mice, and in the 
country with moles, squirrels, birds, and even 
rabbits. Greediness, the cause of most of 
their ailments, is much developed in cats. 
Punishment does not cure it, 
but they will sometimes pay at- 
tention to a stern order given 
in a loud \'oice. 

VIII. Diseases of Cats 

Although in cases of actual 
illness it is necessary, as in the 
case of dogs, to call in a veteri- 
narian, if the life of the patient 
is valuable, \ct there are many 
little ailments easily curable 
with very simple remedies. In 
case of diarrhea, for instance. 



little rats, suckled them and brought them up, from which cats very frequently suffer, rice 
which was all the more remarkable as she was with a decoction of sorghum, and as little 
a noted enemy and hunter of rats and mice. food as possible, will effect a cure. Diarrhea, 



90 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



however, is apt to weaken the animal, and a 
watch should be kept for this. 

Cutaneous affections are very disagreeable 
for persons who live in the house with cats 
thus troubled ; they are contagious to other 
animals, dogs especially. It is therefore well 
to examine even healthy cats once a week, and 
if the slightest suspicious spot appears, to 
wash the animal with a solution of borax in 
water. It will be found on examination that 
the healthiest and finest cats are seldom free 
from vermin. If red spots, or pustules, appear 
on the skin, an ointment of lard, sulphur dust, 
Peruvian balsam, and creosote should be 
applied ; but it must never be forgotten that 
all cats are perpetually licking themselves 
with their tongues. The mite of a cat, a tiny 
spider which harbors especially 
in the ear, gives rise to a species 
of mange, which can be cured by 
petroleum or any of the mange 
remedies that are advertised. 
The insect or flesh worm of the 
mange is sometimes communi- 
cated to persons. Cats are also 
tormented at times with worms, 
the germs of which they get from 
the rats and mice they swallow. 
Any vermifuge will remedy this trouble, but 
the cat should be kept in the house, so as to 
observe the effects of it. The madness of cats 
is even more dangerous than that of dogs, for 
they bite with greater violence. Yet we never 
hear of muzzles for cats. 

IX. Superstitions. Historical Notes 
We have already spoken of phantom cats, 
and of the part they play in popular supersti- 
tions and in mythology. A study of the origin 
of legends and fairy tales would shed much 
light into the still obscure lives of the peoples 
of past ages. Nearly all animals appear in the 
fabulous events and poetic legends that have 
come down to us ; but the cat, in its character 
of domestic animal, plays the chief role. In 
the old popular beliefs it was part and parcel 
of the dwelling. A new cat was made to walk 
three times across the hearth with solemn 




YouxG Tricolor Cat 



ceremony. Marriages were celebrated, if possi- 
ble, on Friday, the day dedicated to Freya, and 
if the sun shone during the ceremony, it was 
said that the bride had taken good care of the 
cat and had fed her well. Young girls in 
Norway who caress cats are sure of a hand- 
some husband ; but if one of those animals 
lies at the church door just as the marriage is 
about to be celebrated, the union of the two 
young people will be unhappy. According to 
an old legend of eastern Prussia, it is very 
dangerous for a married pair if two cats with 
their tails tied together run along the road in 
front of the wedding procession. In all the 
mythologies cats play a part. 

The popular tale of Puss in Boots is known 
everywhere, but what is not so well known is 
that the skull of a "booted cat'" 
is preserved in the osteological 
museum at Amsterdam. Evi- 
dently this cannot be a joke in 
so grave an institution ; conse- 
quently it is worth while to 
search the works of natural his- 
tory and find, if we can, a de- 
scription of the species of cat 
called "booted." In the great 
osteographical history of De 
Blainville (among others) we find mention of 
a group of " booted cats," which have much 
in common with our domestic animal, as far as 
their skeleton is concerned. To this group 
belong the Nubian cats Fclis manicjilata and 
Felis caligata (from which probably came the 
skull preserved in the Amsterdam museum) ; 
also Felis Bubastis, the cat of ancient Egypt. 
The name of "booted cat" was first given to 
it, according to Cuvier, by Bruce, the Egyptian 
traveler, on account of its legs, which are black 
or white at the bottom like boots. Temminck, 
who baptized the species in his Monograpli of 
Alammifers with the name Fclis caligata, gives 
identically the same description of it. In the 
zoological garden at Amsterdam there is now 
a living specimen of these original wild cats of 
Egypt ; it has reddish-brown ears with Uttle 
tufts at the points of them, and answers pre- 
cisely to the descriptions and drawings given of 



THE CAT 



91 




it by Cuvier. In scientific works " booted cat " 
sometimes bears the name of "booted lynx." 

In the seventeenth century it was not un- 
common to see, especially in Amsterdam, fig- 
ures of cats carved on the fronts of houses. 
The custom came about in this \\n\- - -• 

Civet cats, originating in Nort 
Africa, and greatly priz 
especially in Spain wherc 
they brought high 
prices, were imported 
into Holland by cer- 
tain merchants, who 
formed a society for 
the propagation and 
sale of them, and took 
for its emblem a civet 
cat. The value of the ani 
mal came from a gland or bag 
under its tail, containing a sub 
stance that was made into a perfume 
and also into a remedy. Towards the 
close of the seventeenth century this industry 
disappeared for the simple reason that the musk 
plant was discovered ; but the civet cat still 
lingers on the architecture of Amsterdam. 

Speaking of architecture reminds us that 
withered cats are found from time to time 
under or between the walls of old houses. 
They are marvelously well preserved ; death 
has caught and stiffened them 
in the moment of their utmost 
agony. Their remarkable pres- 
ervation comes, no doubt, 
from the fact that the animal 
has thrust itself through some 
very narrow aperture, so 
narrow that no air comes 
through it, and the poor crea- 
ture dies, and withers without 
decaying. 

We frequently find cats in 
heraldic art. The wife of King 
Clevis bore a cat sable on her 
blazon ; and the Katzen family 
of the present day bears an 
argent cat on an azure field. 
The celebrated printers Sessa, 



of Venice, always placed a cat device on the 
last page of their editions. The Romans painted 
cats on several of the banners of their legions. 
The famous cohort (subdivision of the legion) 
of the Happ)- Old Men — /r/iccs soiiores — 
bore a banner with a red cat 
tanding on a gold ground. 

X. Tr.mning .\nd 
Mice Hunting 

The word "training" 

in its true sense 

applies, naturally, 

far less to cats than 

to dogs. They are 

not used for ordinary 

unting, though in 

yprus they are taught to 

hunt snakes, and in Russia 

e domestic cat catches great 

quantities of those reptiles in sum- 
AN Old H.at ' . ' 

mer. This same trait is not un- 
known in America. In Paraguay cats attack and 
kill rattlesnakes. They will also catch tortoises, 
and do good service during plagues of grass- 
hoppers, locusts, and cockchafers, of which 
they destroy enormous quantities. But in all 
this there is no question of training; instinct 
and natural impulse are the sole guides to their 
behavior. There are, of course, instances of cats 




92 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A Dangerous Plaything 

trained to jump over a stick, to ride horseback 
upon dogs, and even to dance to the word of 
command. But tricks of this kind, suitable only 
for fairs and circuses, can be taught just as 
easily to pigs and cockatoos ; in fact, the cats 
which, by dint of patience, have been taught 
these things must be regarded as great excep- 
tions. If it is desired to teach anything to a 
cat, the utmost gentleness must be used, for 
cats fear and resent blows and harsh words 
far more than a dog ever does. 

There is no question of training a cat to 
catch mice. All of them do not do it with 



the same agility, and it is claimed that the 
common, striped, gray domestic cat is foremost 
in the art. It may be that cats of that color 
come nearest to the wild cat, but it is more 
probable that the color is not so easily seen by 
the little rodents. A baker or a miller ought. 




therefore, to keep white cats to save his grain, 
because where all is white a cat of a dark color 
would be seen more easily. 

A cat kept exclusively to hunt mice must 
not be deprived, as is sometimes the case, of 
other food. To do so is more than imprudent. 




Making Acquaintance with Photography 



I 



THE CAT 



93 



In the first place, mice do not 
afford sufficient nourishment, 
and the hungry hunters will 
soon learn to go after birds 
and chickens ; or they will seek 
other food, often very injurious, 
and so fall ill and die. 

The patience of a cat when 
watching a mouse is really un- 
speakable, but as soon as the 
favorable moment arrives it 
moves forward, its belly to 
earth, gently shaking its hind 
quarters, that the elasticity of 
its hind legs may be in com- 
munion with the rest of the 
body ; then the spring is made, 
and it never misses its stroke. 
Trainers, bow your heads ! 
Here Nature has trained, and 
the pupil has absorbed the 
science in its blood, in its mar- 
row, and in every muscle. 

XI. The Cat's Way of 
Climbing and Falling 

Young cats love to climb, a 
pleasure readil\- granted to 
them, for however hazardous 
their performances may appear, 
there is usually little danger. 
Thanks to its sharp claws a cat 
can climb a tree very rapidly, 
as can tigers and other felines ; 
the taste, however, among tame 
animals seems confined to kit- 
tens and young cats. Old cats 
apply this faculty only to attain 
some purpose, — to reach the 
top of the garden wall or the 
gutter of the house. When cats 
fall from a considerable height 
they come down safe nine times 
out of ten ; but it is an e.xag- 
geration to say that they always 
fall on their feet, that is to say, 
without any accident, for we 
could cite many instances in 




94 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



which they are killed on the spot. Nevertheless, 
the fact is generally true, for they know how to 
turn and twist while falling, so that the center 
of gravity gets placed in such a way as to oblige 
the body to make a half turn at the last, bring- 
ing the feet to the ground. A cat once fell 
from the fifth story of a house, and though be- 
wildered for a moment, picked itself up quickly 
and scampered away. 

A cat seated is an ideal image of repose. 
No other animal conveys such an impression of 
perfect rest and quiet meditation. The 
dog, which is much nearer to man 
by reason of his development, 
cannot equal the cat in that 
position. The graceful 
pose, the perpendicular 
front slope, the hind legs 
wrapped by the supple 
tail, the short and vigor- 
ous neck meeting the 
back in a pretty little 
curve, and the beautiful 
round head with its pointed 
ears give to the seated cat a 
singularly peaceful air, to which 
the contented expression of its neatly 
cut face contributes much. Is it sur- 
prising that the artist's eye has been 
so struck by this attitude that he 
should love to paint the figure of a seated cat 
beside the old dame knitting near the cradle in 
a tranquil home ! 

XII. For and Against 
In all that we have so far said there is surely 
no ground for an injunction against cats ; the 
fors certainly have it all their own way. But 
let us now turn our eyes to the againsts. We 
will take Buffon to witness. He does not spare 
poor pussy; he thinks her "an animal that 
deserves no confidence ; which should be kept 
only from necessity, to guard against another 
unpleasant animal — the mouse. At night, 
instead of sleeping near its master," contin- 
ues the learned naturalist, "it rambles off, 
through woods and fields, pursuing and de- 
stroying game. How many nests it ruins ! 




" They mean to fling 
me into the water " 



How Stealthily, treacherously, it creeps along, 
like the cunning thief it is ! . . . 

Buffon, as we see, was no friend to cats ; 
but long before his day they had cruel enemies 
who fought them more directly. In 1747 
Archbishop Clement Augustus of Cologne 
published an edict that all cats should have 
their ears cut off. This singular measure was 
intended to protect hares and young pheasants. 
The poor maimed creatures would no longer 
go marauding, or what is still more probable, 
the subjects of the prelate would feel 
their affection for the animal cool- 
ing after such disfigurement. 
Moreover, every ear not cut 
off was subject to a fine of 
a quarter of a florin. 
Madame de Custine, a 
great friend of cats, took 
up their defense. She 
wrote, among others, to 
Champfleury, another 
friend of pussy, saying that 
they deserved to be placed 
before dogs, whose attachment 
and fidelity was too mechanical, 
whereas we could not too much ad- 
mire the independence of cats. 

There are many extravagant judg- 
ments pronounced by partisans and 
adversaries of the feline race. The sportsman, 
especially, cries out, " Death to cats ! " It is 
true that these animals can and do cause great 
damage to game and poultry. The wild cats 
must certainly be regarded as beasts of prey, 
deserving of antipathy and of all the measures 
taken for their destruction ; but the domestic 
cat, provided it is not left to care for itself, 
does not do the mischief that many persons 
imagine. In any case, it is easy to take effectual 
measures against it without resorting to tor- 
tures, such as setting traps, or to open murder 
by means of dogs. 

The usefulness of the cat after death is 
relatively small, provided we except the intes- 
tines, which are used for making violin strings, 
and the pelt, which appears in commerce as a 
real fur. 



I 



THE CAT 



95 



XIII. The Cat as a Mummv 

We cannot take leave of the cat without 
visiting with amazement and profoimd respect 
its mummied ancestors as they appear in vari- 
ous museums ; with amazement, because the 
ancient Egyptians, highly developed in many 
ways, held the cat in such esteem that they 
embalmed its body ; and with respect, because 
of the conscientious manner in which the em- 
balming was done, so that after thousands of 
years these mummied bodies can be brought 
to light exactly as they were when buried. 

It has not, so far, been decided why the 
Egyptians regarded the cat as a divinity. 
According to Plutarch there is an afifinity 
between this animal and the moon, first, be- 
cause the cat is a nocturnal animal ; secondly, 
because it brings into the world first one little 
one, then two, three, four, five, up to twenty- 
eight, the number of days in the lunar month. 
Perhaps this latter reason is the cause of its 
adoration as a divinity. In the grotto of Arte- 
mis, near the ancient Bubastis, there are 
several cats which were buried there with 
great ceremony in the midst of costly fetes. 
Herodotus relates that as soon as the cat of 
an Egyptian died profound sadness took pos- 
session of the whole family, who put on deep 
mourning. The noble dead was laid out in 
state, embalmed with precious spices, and 
taken to Bubastis, where (as well as at Mem- 
phis) obsequies were performed which often 
cost as much as nine thousand aiicres. 

Mummies of cats which had lived in the 
temple of the goddess Pasht were treated 
with extreme veneration, and we find in their 



tombs great numbers of gold ornaments bear- 
ing the same letters as those found in the 
tombs of kings. ALso there are mummies of 
women which bear the inscription techau, — 
cat, — signifying that they were protected by 
the goddess of that animal. 

Dr. Etienne Geoffroy was the first man to 
study the skeleton of an Egyptian mummy cat. 
He discovered that the animal differed in no 
particular from the domestic cat of Europe and 
America, — a discovery which was contested by 
another learned naturalist named Ehrenberg, 
who insisted that the existing mummies were 
the remains of the Abyssinian cat in its wild 
state, an opinion shared by Blainville. The 
latter very learned professor of anatomy made 
a searching study of these mummies, in which 
he distinguished three species, — the Felis 
Caligata, the Bubastis, and the Chans. The 
two first are still found in a wild state in cer- 
tain parts of Egypt. Careful search made by 
learned Egyptologists shows that the linen 
wrapped around all the cat mummies that have 
so far been found is of fine quality, the same 
as that wrapped around kings. 

In these days there is no such thing as 
embalming a cat ; instead of that we sweep 
them on to the manure heap or fling them 
into the water. No one ever dreams of bury- 
ing them, unless in some very exceptional case, 
when a petted cat is put to rest in a dogs' 
cemetery. Nevertheless, one cat is recorded 
as having been embalmed and mummified in 
the fourteenth century. It was Petrarch's cat, 
which died in 1374, and was long seen inca.sed 
above the door of the poet's house at Vaucluse. 



Ill 

THE HORSE 



I. The Land of his Origin and his 
Ancestors 

It is from the vast steppes of northern Asia, 
where the tempests rage and man can scarcely 
live, that the horse has come. He did not come 
of himself, nor has he ever given himself wholly 
to man, like the dog. On the contrary, even 
now in his civilized state, he turns his back, and 
sometimes his heels, on those he does not recog- 
nize, if they come too near him. 

Feeding on those illimitable plains, the wild 
horse learned to perceive at a great distance 
the approach of his enemies, the wild beasts. 
The quick ears pricked, a short neigh 
sounded, and the horde dashed away 
with the speed of the wind. He fled 
before all strange life, and conse 
quently before man, who sought 
to capture him for his flesh and 
his skin. Here we come upon 
the great natural motive, the 
first cause of the drawing to- 
gether of man and animals, — 
hunger and its satisfying. This 
is proved by the enormous quan 
tity of horses' bones found in the 
caves of prehistoric man. The skulls 
and the cleft bones show that 
marrow, and brains served as food to the 
dwellers in those caverns. 

It was probably not until much later that 
the horse was tamed and subjected to the will 
of man. The people of the steppes, surrounded 
by wild animals of all kinds, learned to capture 
the laggards and stragglers, and from this 
dates a memorable epoch in the relations of 
man to the animal kingdom. In all probability 
a number of the smaller animals had sub- 
mitted, while the great horse still protested 
vehemently against enslavement. It is likely 
that it was not by gentleness (as in our day) 
that he was first subdued, which says all the 




flesh 



more for his good qualities when at last he 
resigned himself and understood what was 
wanted of him. His speed made the first great 
impression upon man ; in fact, there are coun- 
tries where his name comes to him from that 
quality. In Hebrew, in Egyptian, and in some 
other ancient languages the word s/is stands 
for "horse" and for "swallow." The Greek 
vford /itppos signifies "rapid." When the horse 
was seen for the first time at Malacca he was 
called kuda-barong^ the horse bird. 

The people of the steppes finally identified 
themselves wholly with their steeds. The 
Mongols, horsemen from time immemorial, 
show it in their shape and their atti- 
tude ; they have made, so to speak, 
the horseman type, — curved legs 
and the upper part of the body 
bending forward. They sleep on 
their horses, live with them, boast 
of them, and love them more than 
wife or child. 

The wild horse still exists, how- 
ever ; he can be found in the 
southern regions of Siberia, on the 
plains of Mongolia, among the Ural 
Mountains, and in America, where he 
is a descendant of the horse stock brought 
over by the Spanish explorers. As late as the 
second half of the twelfth century he was 
hunted in Spain, in the Belgian Ardennes, in 
Italy, and in the south and east of what is 
now Germany. Later still wild horses inhabited 
the forests of Russia, and in the seventeenth 
century were hunted in Poland and in Lithu- 
ania. Those that were captured alive were 
kept like cattle in inclosures, where they 
were trained for either riding or draft, chiefly 
for the former purpose. Mare's milk, which 
is still greatly esteemed for cheese or whey 
(koumiss) among the Tartars, was a chief 
article of food. 



96 




From a waler color by Otto Eerelman 



THE HORSE 



97 



Thus it was that the horse came from a 
wild to a scmiwild state, till at last he reached 
the condition of a domesticated animal. It is 
to be remarked that the farther he came from 
the steppes of northern Asia the lon^^'r time 
it seems to have taken to domesticate and 
utilize him. In all directions the explorer finds 
that the breeding and training of horses is an 
art which the peoples of Europe have learned 
from their neighbors on the east and north- 
east. It is equally remarkable that in Russia, 
which serves as an intermediary between 



As for their distribution in cities and coun- 
try places, that depends on circumstances. 
The relation between production and demand 
naturally exercises great influence in certain 
countries. In the United States, which sup- 
plies its needs chiefly by its own production, 
the relative numbers show that about four fifths 
of the total number of horses are employed in 
agriculture or for draft purposes, the remaining 
fifth being in private use, chiefly in the cities. 

In 1S99 Paris had 93,052 horses, and in 
1900 statistics show a record of 98,284, — an 




A F.AMILV P.^RTY 



Europe and Asia, horses are still found in far 
greater numbers than elsewhere, and so are the 
races of horsemen. 

The horse has always retained the principal 
and best qualities of his ancestors, - — speed and 
strength. These qualities, which served him 
once for flight only, are now employed in the 
service of humanity. Let us therefore caress 
that lowered head and rightly appreciate this 
quadruped, larger and stronger than ourselves, 
as one of the most useful and most indispen- 
sable of the domestic animals. 

II. The Breeds of Horses 
In spite of motor cars, steam, and electricity 
the number of horses is still increasing enor- 
mously throughout the world. 



increase of 5200 horses in a single city in one 
year. This shows that just as photography 
has not killed portrait painting, so the bicycle 
has not killed horseback riding, for riding is 
an art, and the arts die not. It remains to be 
seen whether motor cars can kill the driving of 
horses, which also is an art, and a great one. 

In the United States the number of horses 
has increased nearly sixty per cent in twenty- 
five years, showing how great is the role that 
the horse plays to-day in all our social and 
domestic relations. 

A vast international commerce in horses 
goes on at all times. The countries that con- 
tribute most to this commerce are Russia, Hun- 
gar)-, Roumania, Denmark, and the United 
States. In 1897 this commerce between the 



98 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Half-Blood Mare of Holstein 

different countries amounted in round numbers 
to two hundred thousand horses at a total 
value of $30,000,000. 

Horses now existing ma}' be divided 
into two great groups : the heavy, 
cool-blooded horses of western 
Europe, called also the horses of 
Armorica; and the lighter, hot- 
blooded horses of Eastern origin. 
This difference relates to character 
and temperament, the Eastern horses 
being ardent, quick, susceptible, 
courageous, sometimes restive ; while 
those of the West are calm, equable, 
slow, and docile. 

Russia, with her vast plains, is the 
\a.nd far excellence oi)\o\-s&s. In 1886 
the number of Kirghiz families in- 
habiting the steppes of Siberia north 
of Turkestan was, in round numbers, 
three hundred thousand, the poorest 
of whom owned from fifteen to twenty horses. 



while the rich owned many thousands. The 
Russian horses may be divided into three 
groups, — those of the steppes, those of the 
peasants, and those of the stud. The first two 
form the transition from the wild horse to the 
civilized horse. All Russian horses of the first 
two groups are horses of the steppes, or 
descended from them, and in their exterior 
they nearly always present the Oriental type. 
The horses of the steppes are born there, and 
live a free life in large herds, or else in small 
groups of five or six. They feed during most 
of the year on the grass of the steppes. To 
these belong the wild horse of the region and 
the semiwild ones belonging to the Kirghiz 





Our Faithful Friends 



Head of Horse born White (Albino) 

and the Calmucks ; also those of the Don and 
the Caucasus. 

The peasant horses of Russia are no 
longer reckoned among the horses of the 
steppes, although they are descended from 
them. All the horses that we have men- 
tioned so far are of pure blood ; but in the 
third group, those of the stud and of civil- 
ized Europe and America, we find new 
breeds produced under the influence of 
man, either by crossbreeding with foreign 
races or by modifications of life and habit. 

The horses of the Kirghiz, which are 
those of Asia to the northeast of the 



THE HORSE 



99 



Caspian Sea, are frequently exported to Russian 
Europe, especially for military ser\'ice. Droves 
of these dirty, half -wild, but extremely hardy 

animals can be seen at the fairs in the southwest 



cream, white spotted with red, or sorrel. This 
horse, like the wild one in the mountains and 
river bottoms of the western part of the United 
States, excels in vigor, speed, and extraordinar)- 




On the Road in Ohio 



of Europe. Their height is not more than 
fourteen hands ; their heads are well formed, 
with eves full of expression, and quick, alert 
ears : the neck is short and rounded in front, 
the withers high, and the back straight or 
slightly curved ; the haunches are broad and 
high, the rump rather sloping, the legs short but 



power of endurance under fatigue and hunger. 
He will go for several consecutive days with- 
out food, and can easily do from forty to sixty 
miles a day, covering from five to ten miles 
an hour, and even more. He can bear all 
weathers, and may be used either for riding 
or as a draft horse. 




Spotted Horses of the Stefpes 



well developed, and the hoofs small and firm. 
The hair is short and fine in summer, and 
coarse and long in winter ; that of the tail and 
mane is thick. Their color is usually light-bay, 



The horses of the Calmucks, like those pre- 
ceding, are horses of the steppes, belonging to 
these nomad tribes. We meet them between 
the Ural Mountains and the Volga. They are 



lOO 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



rather taller than the Kirghiz horses, but have 
nearly the same characteristics. The Calmucks 
are excellent horsemen, and long-distance races 




Cossacks of the Guard (Russia) 

are much in favor with them, as they are also 
among the Kirghiz. The riders take with them 
neither food nor drink, and make no stop for 
rest. The competitors are drawn up in a 
straight line, and at a signal rush away with 
the greatest speed. The first to arrive at the 
terminus receives a prize, which is often very 
large, sometimes a hundred horses, from 
one to two hundred sheep, a number of 
camels, valuable weapons, etc. The 
second prize, on the contrary, is very 
small, often only one sheep. 

As it is thought shameful not to reach 
the goal, the horses which are exhausted 
by the run are sometimes dragged by 
ropes across the winning line. These 
Mongol nomads are far from kind to 
their beasts ; they guide them with a 
rough hand, and give them no food but 
what the steppe affords. The manner 
in which they protect them from cold is 
both cruel and unique. When the ani- 
mals come back from a long run, in a 
temperature of from twenty to thirty degrees 
below zero, there are no stables to shelter them 
and blankets are unknown. The Mongols simply 



pour water over their backs, which freezes 
instantly and prevents the heat of their 
bodies from escaping. 

The horses of the Cossacks 
of the Don are found on the 
prairies that border that river 
and its affluents. They are not 
handsome, but they are robust 
and swift. Their muscles are 
well developed in every part of 
their body ; the eyes are small, 
the ears alert, the withers long 
and high, the back short and 
straight, the loins robust, the 
croup broad, the chest not 
broad, but deep and well 
formed ; the flanks are round, 
the belly sometimes rather in- 
drawn, the legs long and power- 
ful, the tail thick and long, and 
the mane short and full. Their 
color is usually chestnut, dark 
brown, or white. The whole animal is built to 
travel long distances without fatigue. His gait 
is free and firm, but a steady trot is the one 
that suits him least. It is at a gallop and 
when he has to clear obstacles in his way that 
he shows to most advantage. Though quite 
ignorant of fear, he is touchy and skittish. 




Ready for Transport (Libou, Russia) 

In the present day the old breed of the Don 
horses is being improved and ennobled by cross- 
ing: them with thoroughbred stallions. In 1882 



I02 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




BiTjouG Stallion (Russian) 

more than four hundred thousand of these 
horses were counted on the territory of the 
Cossacks of the Don. They are so well known 
for their fine qualities as riding horses that 
they are exported in great numbers not only to 
other parts of Russia but also to Austria, 
Hungary, Prussia, and the Balkans. 

The horses of the Balkans are especially 
mountain horses, but in their habits of life 
they bear some relation to those of the steppes. 
The best of the race show a close re- 
lationship with Persian and Arabian 
horses ; like them, their bones are 
delicate though strong, their muscles 
well developed, and their coats soft 
and glossy. Their color is very beau- 
tiful, often a golden-red, with mane 
and tail of the darkest brown. Special 
breeds among them are known by the 
general name of Circassian horses. 

The horses of the Russian peas- 
ants, used for agricultural labor, dif- 
fer radically from the light, fleet 
riding horses we have just described. 
They bear the general name of peas- 
ant or cool-blooded horses, and pre- 
dominate in numbers, there being 
about seventeen million of them, as 
many of this class in Russia as of 
all kinds in the United States. The 



Bitjougs belong to this family. They 
take their name from an affluent of 
the Don, and are chiefly found on 
the plains between the Volga and that 
river, to the north of the Cossacks 
of the Don. They are descended in 
part from males brought from the 
Low Countries by Peter the Great ; 
later still the race has had some 
mingling of Oriental blood. The Bit- 
jougs are tall and vigorously built. 
Their broad chest, their stout body 
and solid back, their neck heavily 
muscled, their strong sinewy legs, 
short pasterns, and solid hoofs mark 
them for draft animals. They are 
not only strong, but are also ener- 
getic, wilHng, and obedient. Thanks 
to their steady, even trot, they are often used 
for riding as well as for draft. 

These and other of the Russian peasant 
horses came originally from the steppes. In 
times of famine, when thousands of horses 
perish, great droves of steppe horses are im- 
ported into European Russia, where they are 
used for field labor, but their fate is none the 
better for it. The prairies of Russia in Europe 
often afford less food than the steppes of Asia ; 




Orloff Mare (Russian Trotter) 



THE HORSE 



103 



and though the animals 
ma)' not be forced to 
scratch up the snow in 
winter to get at the 
grass, the straw, often 
rotten, on which the 
peasants feed them is 
certainly no better. The 
poor animals share the 
pitiful fate of the Rus- 
sian peasants, — hunger, 
thirst, and misery. 

The racers, next in 
rank after the American 
trotting horse, are the 
creation of Count Orloff , 




Oldenburg Coach Horse (Mare) 

Two and a lialf years old 



was the one thing neces- 
sary has been super- 
seded by crossbred 
animals employed for 
nobler purposes. In 
general, the Germans of 
the Middle Ages used 
heavy horses, whereas 
small horses or ponies 
abounded along the 
coasts of the Baltic and 
in Prussia. But all these 
have long since given 
way to half-blooded ani- 
mals raised all over the 
country with various 



and they are named Orloffs after him. In con- modifications, but coming chiefly from a mixture 
sequence of continual admixture of Oriental, of pure-blooded Oriental and English horses, 
English, and Dutch blood the Orloff stock has and also from importations of cool-blooded ani- 
become what it is to-day, — a beautiful and mals from Belgium and England. It ma)- be 
noble animal, sometimes a little narrow and said, in general, that in northern German)- we 
leggy, not deep enough in the chest, 
the croup dome shaped, sloping down 
on all sides, but revealing his East- 
ern origin by the shape of his head, 
the expression of his eyes, the fine 
form of the neck and shoulders, the 
strength of his sinewy legs, and by 
other cjualities. Though there may 
be in their exterior something not 
wholly satisfactory to the eye of a 
connoisseur, these horses should be 
judged when at work. The equable 
cadence of their movements, their 
incredible swiftness, their carriage, 
their endurance, have passed into 
a proverb. The principal colors arc 
gray and black, in which the Orloffs 
themselves have remained faithful to 
their Frisian ancestors. 

In the Old World, after Russia, 
Germany has the largest number of 
horses ; they are particularly numer- 
ous on the plains in the northern part 
of the country. Yet that country is 
not rich in original races. On the 
contrary, its famous black horse of 
the days of chivalry, when brute force Same Horse Trotting 




I04 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



mostly find light horses for saddle and harness, 
and in the southern part of the country the 
heavier draft horses. 

Hanover devotes itself especially to the pro- 
duction of solid, weighty animals of noble 




Blue-White Mare (German Coach Horse) 
Two years old 

form for the saddle and harness ; they have 
great endurance and a fiery temperament. 
From the days of George I of England, the 
first of the Hanoverian kings, eight of these 
horses have drawn the royal coach on all state 
occasions, their last appearance being 
at Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 
in 1S97. 

Oldenburg and Friesland stand 
quite apart from the rest of Germany 
in their production of horses. The 
Oldenburgs are especially known as 
fine, large, heavy carriage horses ; 
the head is well formed, the neck 
and shoulders handsome, the withers 
high, and the legs strongly muscled 
but often thick and coarse about 
the knees. They are not as noble in 
their conformation as the Hanove- 
rians, but they excel them in their 
docility and fine action. 

In the Rhenish provinces and 
throughout all southern Germany the heavy cart 
or work horse takes the first rank. He is usually 
of Belgian origin, though in some places we 
find the heavy English animal. 



The race of the Pinzgau, originally the wild 
horse of the Noric Alps of Austria, is still 
found in southern Bavaria, and is much em- 
ployed in Munich to draw the trucks of the 
breweries. It takes its name from the valley 
of Pinzgau near Salzburg. This race 
is considered as descending, without 
admi.xture of any kind, from the 
ancient wild horse of the Alps, which, 
in the days of the Romans, lived in 
a savage state among the mountains. 
In the neighborhood of Munich there 
is also a light-weight, primitive horse, 
called the Feldmoching (from the 
village of that name), the skeleton 
of which corresponds precisely to 
that of the fossil horses found in the 
lake of Sternberg. 

Austria-Hungary comes next after 
Germany in the number of its horses, 
although it has no race types. In 
the German-speaking Austrian prov- 
inces the animals are heavier than those found 
among the peoples of Slavic and Romanic 
origin. In the eastern districts, Gahcia and 
Transylvania, the influence of Oriental blood 
is plainly felt. In these provinces we find 




Light Bay Oldenburg Mare 



many ponies, angular in shape and thin, but 
fiery and showing qualities of endurance all 
the more remarkable because their lives are 
cruelly hard. On the plains of Hungary, with 



THE HORSE 



105 



their vast fields, the breeding of horses is 
much developed. The Oriental type predom- 
inates ; hence it is supposed that the Hunga- 
rian horse came originally from Asia with his 
master, the Magyar. These ponies are now 
disappearing and giving place to better culti- 
vated breeds. The Jucker horse, which may 
be regarded as the native Hungarian horse 
ennobled, is at present the model type. Agile 



ninth century under the rule of the Normans, 
who established breeding farms in the neigh- 
borhood of Rouen, Caen, and Bayeux. 

During the succeeding centuries these heavy 
Norman horses were crossed with English 
blood, producing one of the most remarkable 
breeds in France, — the French Coach, which 
as a carriage horse enjoys great popularity 
both in France and in our own country, the 




and very enduring, he can cover extraordinary 
distances at great speed. The Hungarians are 
passionate horsemen and lovers of their steeds, 
in which thc\- arc encouraged by the fine tiual- 
ities (if those animals. 

France still jiossesses several types of prinii- 
ti\e horses, ver\' distinct from one another. 
In the South we fintl the descendants of Ori- 
ental horses introduced by the Moors in the 
seventh and eighth centuries, wiiilc in the 
northern departments we still see the ancient 
hot-blyoded animals which flourished in the 



rival of both German and English horses of that 
class He possesses all the necessary external 
qualities, — height, massiveness, and nobility of 
shape. Smaller and lighter than the Oldenburg 
horse, he is quite as noble, and he excels him 
in motion with a high-stepping action of the 
knee. He is generally brown in color. 

On the northwest plains ot France we still 
find an ancient heavy horse, which we also 
encounter everywhere along the shores of the 
North Sea, not only in France but also in Bel- 
gium, Holland, and Denmark. All this group 



io6 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 





1 




■-■'»' ■ ^^^0 


■ f i 


^^ 




i' i 


I 




mO ■ 


K 1. 


^" -' 


ft^.^->?^, -~ 


H^^^^ 


k.:.- 


iJS5_:^_:l 




HHhH 



Half-Blood Huxgarian (Jucker) 

of cool-blooded horses take the 
general name of Armorican, 
from the peninsula of Armorica 
in Brittany. 

The French Draft, as we 
know him, belongs to this 
group, and is found throughout 
the northern districts of France. 
He has a broad, coarse head, 
a short and thick neck with a 
heavy double mane, the withers 
low, the chest broad, cleft, and 
pendent, the legs short and 
strong. He is usually gray. 
The Flemish horses are the 
heaviest, and are fit to go at 
a foot pace only. The Bou- 
lognese, being rather lighter, 
can go, if necessary, at a trot. 



The Percheron horse, belonging to the same group, 
takes his name from the Perche region between Nor- 
mandy and the river Maine. He differs little from the 
foregoing breeds, but is especially suited to draw, at 
a rather quick pace, moderately heavy loads, such as 
omnibuses, street cars, and farm tools and implements. 
The Percheron is the most popular draft horse that we 
have obtained from across the sea. 

The Breton horse is another representative of the 
same group, but smaller and lighter in every way ; in fact, 
strictly speaking, he is a pony and is much used for 
breeding on account of his vigor and hardiness. The 
horses of Brittan}' are robust animals, able to carry to 




French Coach II. 




Half-Blood Hungarian (Jucker) 



market a peasant, his whole family, 
and all the produce they have to 
sell. During Napoleon's campaign 
in Russia they acquired the name 
of " French Cossacks." 

England, the land where horses 
are bred for special purposes, has 
become indispensable to the civilized 
world on account of the demand for 
English blood. Her breeding of the 
Thoroughbred has been for centuries 
the source to which the whole world 
(China excepted) goes when a noble 
animal of rapid gait is wanted. 

The Thoroughbred in its present 
form dates from the second half of 



THE HORSE 



107 



the seventeenth century. As early as the days 
of the Crusades Arabian horses had been 
brought to England, and b\- the close of the 
Middle Ages much Spanish and Italian 
blood had been added to theirs ; but the 
history of pure blood, properly so called, 
does not begin until the reign of Charles 
II. Produced by the crossing of several 
races, the English Thoroughbred has the 
blood of several original races, especially 
the Oriental, but since the establishment 
of the genealogical record the breed has 
been kept pure. 

The best known ancestors of this breed 
are Byerly Turk, Derby Arabian, and 
Godolphin Arabian, who lived in the last 
half of the seventeenth century and the 
first half of the eighteenth. The Thor- 
oughbred is especially famous as a racer 
or running horse. Rapid gait and stay- 
ing power are the chief qualities of these 
animals whose form and every action re- 
veal a noble origin. The small, refined 
head, the delicate, long neck, the keen, 
intelligent eyes, the skin and hair so fine that 
the veins show through them, the broad chest, 
the long but robust back, the straight croup, 



can mold his action on the animal kingdom 
b\- judicious breeding, selection, training, and 
watchful care. Throughout Europe, whenever 





French Draft Horse 

the long, lean, delicate legs with hard tendons 
and solid hoofs, all prove to what result man 



French Saddle Horse 

the improvement of a breed of horses is in ques- 
tion, it is generally a crossing with pure English 
blood that is desired ; it is seldom that the old 
Arabian blood is sought. 

The Yorkshire carriage 
horses and the Cleveland Bays 
form a group apart in England, 
where the former in times past 
were much used as carriage 
horses. The Cleveland Bay 
is a very t>ld race, derived, 
probably, from an ancient 
nii.xture of the English horse 
with Oriental blood. Animals 
of this race are well built, 
lively, and \igorous, with 
strong, lean legs. They are 
much in demand for carriage 
and also for work horses. Of 
late, their good qualities be- 
coming more widely known, 
they have been imported to 
America, where they receive the name of 
" general purpose horses." 



I( 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



In England the Norfolk trotter is the light- 
weight carriage and harness horse par excel- 
lence. He comes from crossing the original 
English blood with the Thoroughbred, adding 
a slight mixture of Dutch blood. His trot is 
noble and high stepping ; he is well built, 
though his back is sometimes a little hollow. 

The Hunter is also a half-breed ; but what 
the Norfolk horse does in harness he does 



of the hunt, and power of endurance, while 
their riders naturally require them to have a 
pleasant, elastic motion. 

The half-bred Irish horse is much in demand 
for military service. The Hackney, which has 
many of the qualities of the Hunter, is also 
used as a saddle horse, but on level roads, 
however, because he is more fitted for quiet 
riding than for jumping. Consequently the 




under the saddle, as his name implies. Thor- 
oughbreds are also used for hunting, but for 
heavy-weight riders the half-bred hunter is 
preferable. He is a descendant of heavy sires 
and light-weight dams, especially Irish mares. 
It often happens that a mare producing a 
Hunter is partly Thoroughbred herself. The 
principal qualities of these animals are strength 
that enables them to carry heavy weights over 
obstacles, speed to follow the pace, often rapid, 



chief qualities required of him are a fine gait, 
elegance of shape, and docility. 

The Cob is a small but sturdy horse, em- 
ployed to draw light phaetons ; he is some- 
times used as a riding horse for old gentlemen, 
on account of his quiet and easy gait. He is 
fiery, however, and a pail of water is often 
given him, just before his master mounts, to 
make him quieter. It was said that Sir Robert 
Peel lost his life by being thrown from a Cob, 



TME HORSE 



109 



which a groom had neglected 
to water. 

Ponies are found in great 
numbers in the mountainous 
parts of Great Britain. The 
Shetland ponies, coming from 
the islands of that name, are 
the most characteristic because 
they are the smallest. These 
little animals, sometimes less 
than three feet high, are much 
used in circuses and are ridden 
by children ; but their chief 
employment across the seas is 
in coal mines, where they draw 
the tram carts. Once taken 
clown into a mine they never 
again see the light of day ; some 
have lived fifteen years, stabled 
and fed underground. 

There are several other tribes 
of ponies named for the local- 
ities where they originate, such 
as the Exmoor, the New Forest, 
the Welsh, and the Scotch 
mountain pony. 




■^A^'- 




Tiiii English TiuiKoicniiRi;!) Kcnninc; Horse 



Breton Pony 

Four yeara old 

The ])(il() ponv is of another 
race altogether. He is exter- 
nally a Thoroughbred and 
descends from one, but by birth 
he is a half-breed. His sire is 
usually a Thoroughbred and his 
mother a Welsh or Irish pony. 
A genealogical tree has been 
drawn up for him. 

On the jilains and in the fer- 
tile valleys of England and 
Scotland there are and have 
been from time immemorial 
solid, heav\-, cool-blooded ani- 
mals. The Shire horse is an 
ancient, indigenous animal 
whose own cool blood has been 
mixed in the course of cen- 
turies with Dutch or Flemish 
blood. His true cradle is the 
center of England, — Notting- 
hamshire, Leicestershire, 



I lO 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Hunter " Tom Brown " 

Has taken many prizes 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

Derbyshire, Staffordshire, — hence 
his name. The race is distinguished 
by its ponderous conformation, its 
fine shape, and especially by the 
thick hair at the back of the leg, 
descending in long locks about the 
fetlock. By his extraordinary 
strength, his gigantic height, and 
his excellent qualities as a draft 
animal, the Shire horse has given 
birth to several celebrated strains 
of brewery, truck, and cart horses 
in England and America. They are 
usually black, gray, or bay in color. 

The Suffolk horse, commonly 
known as the Suffolk Punch, is 
indigenous from ancient times 
in the county of that name. 
He is equally heavy and stout, 
and excels as much by his ex- 
traordinary strength as by the 
docility with which he lends 
himself to toilsome work, espe- 
cially that of agriculture. 

The Clydesdale horses are 
cool-blooded, and take their 



name from the valley of the Clyde in Scotland. 
They come from Scotch mares crossed with 
Flemish sires. This breed produces excellent 
work horses, and is characterized, like the Shire 
horse, by the long, thick hair on the leg, which 
the Suffolk Punch has not. They are usually 
brown or black in color, with a star, blaze, or other 
mark on the forehead, and they frequently have 
white feet. This is a popular breed in America. 
Belgium is the country of heav}^, cool-blooded 
horses. It is, above all, on the plains of Flanders, 
Brabant, and Hainaut that we find stout, strong, 
heavy draft horses. These horses are renowned for 
developed muscles, fine shape, and vast strength. 
The rump is generally sloping and so powerfully 
muscled that it forms a hollow in the center of the 
back, but in spite of this heavy conformation these 
animals trot with ease. The breed is fast find- 
ing friends on this side of the water, and many 
fine specimens have been brought to this country. 





Stallion Polo Pony "Mootrub 
Took first prize in New York 



.ACKNEYS 

The horse of the Ardennes 
is a lighter animal of the same 
species, raised on the moun- 
tains and plateaus of the 
Ardennes. It is put to the 
same uses as the Percheron, 
while the Belgian horses are 
employed chiefly in drawing 
heavy loads. 

The Zealand horse has 
much in common with the 
Belgian horse in shape and 



THE HORSE 



II I 



characteristics, especially in its heavy hind 
ciuarters. 

The Frisian breed, formed)' much empkijed 
in the northern parts of Europe, differs greatly 
from the foregoing type. It is known for its 
high neck and shoulders, its sloping 
rump, the lofty action of the fore legs, 
and its ability to gallop or trot rapidi)-. 
It was chiefly for this latter quality 
that foreigners formerly esteemed the 
Frisian horse, which is now entirely set 
aside. The color is uniformly black. 

Denmark, especially in Jutland, may 
be regarded as the most northern coun- 
try which has produced heavy cool- 
blooded horses. The Jutland horses 
have long been known to foreigners 
as the Danish horses ; in the days of 
chivalry they were much sought for 
their great strength. Denmark is su 
productive of horses that philologists 
assert that its name is derived from 
that animal, Denmark signifying the " land of 
horsemen." The Jutland horse is of medium 
height and weight, and is now used chiefly for 
agriculture and for omnibuses and tramways. 
It is robust, calm in temperament, easy to feed, 
with a steady gait and great endurance. It is 
usually brown or chestnut, seldom black or gray. 



which afford prizes for well-bred horses sent 
to exhibitions, and since 1887 assistance is 
given to societies for the purchase of stallions. 
The number of Danish or Jutland horses is 
reckoned at three hundred thousand, of which 




Welsh Ponv with Fo.^l 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkliampstead 

three fourths are found in Jutland and one fourth 
in the Danish islands. The annual exportation is 
about fifteen thousand, chiefly geldings ; in Ger- 
many these animals are sold at prices varying 
from 600 to 1200 francs, — from $125 to $250. 
The ancient breed of Nordland horses, so 
called, is still met with in Norway ; they are 




SHr.TI..\Nl) PO-VIES 



The Danish horses have rather long backs, 
light withers, the head short and broad, the 
neck thick, the rump sloping, but the legs 
strong. Since 1872 the state grants subsidies 



of medium height, yellow or brownish yellow 
in color, with the mane, tail, and lower part 
of the leg jet black. They have also a black 
stripe running the whole length of the back. 



112 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 







^m 


1 


w 


1 i .-• ^. ' 








-•^SK*^sl^^3 




j^MH^HHSS^^ 



Shire Horse 

Photo J. T. Xewman, Berkhampstead 

The Norker horse is a small pony, to be 
found along the fiords and coasts of Norway. 
It is gray or brownish gray in color, strong, with 
great endurance and solid hoofs, and is famous 
for its ability to climb mountains and to swim. 

Iceland ponies have much in common with 
the Norker horse. They have thick coats, 
enabling them to bear their cold climate, and 
they get their food by scratching away the 



snow with their hoofs and feed- 
ing on the scanty grass and 
mosses which grow on that 
rocky soil. Norway possesses 
another breed of these little 
fiord ponies, called the West- 
land ; they are vigorous and 
hardy, with tufted manes and 
tails. 

The Norwegian trotting 
horse is chiefly found in the 
southeastern portion of the 
country, where races are in 
great favor. This horse resem- 
bles the Frisian trotter, but is 
smaller. He is famous for the 
extreme solidity of his hoofs 
and his strong, sinewy legs ; he 
is courageous, quiet, and good- 
tempered. To improve the 
type, which is rather wanting 
in dignity, breeders are now 
importing stallions from Eng- 
land. Except for racing, the 
love of horses is not much developed in Nor- 
way, because the soil and climate do not lend 
themselves to breeding, and, besides, the farms 
are small, so that breeders seldom have more 
than three or four mares for the purpose. 

Sweden also produces none but small horses 
and ponies. It is only by the establishment of 
stud farms and the importation of foreign stal- 
lions that she has succeeded in raising carriasre 





-^W" ■' 






-^^^F Ba . :"^'^'"*^Hff 


^^^^^'■•*^-*^^ ' 


."^'v? ; ■" ... "^ja&teHHSKSBSSffilP'. ' 


■ ". -j:.. .'■;* --.-iitikKiT^j-;.- „__ . ''.a,-,..*im-sjnm 



Clydesdales 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



114 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and saddle horses. The Swedish army horses 
are loaned during a great part of the time to 
the peasants, who may use them for saddle and 
harness, but not for heavy work. The Swedish 




Suffolk-Punch Mare " Queen of Diamonds ' 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

ponies bear a general resemblance to those of 
Norway, Iceland, and the Shetland and Orkney 
islands. They are mostly gray or mouse col- 
ored, with black points. The smallest are found 
on the island of Oland, and are called Glanders. 
Large heads with heavy jaws, 
thick, harsh coats, and tufted 
manes and tails characterize 
nearly all these northern ponies. 

In the southern countries of 
Europe we find little animals 
that correspond to the ponies 
of the north. In Greece ponies 
share the kingdom with don- 
keys and mules ; a particularly 
small breed, smaller than that of 
the Shetland Isles, is found in 
the Cyclades. No sign remains 
of the equine glory of ancient 
Greece and of her famous breed 
of Thessalian horses. 

The same may be said of 
Italy, which is now under the 
necessity of annually importing 
more than thirty thousand 
horses. The Sardinian ponies 
are strong, handsome animals ; 
they are generally brown. The 
smallest are called "achetta," 



and their sure, firm step on the mountains is 
much praised. Ponies are also bred in Sicily. 
Formerly Italy was celebrated for her horses. 
The Neapolitans, especially, enjoyed a world- 
wide fame at a period when breeding and 
equitation were at their zenith in that coun- 
try. Pasquala Caracciolo, a professor in the 
Italian school for these arts, now abandoned, 
asserts that for traveling, trotting, galloping, 
and war, and also for leaping and hunting, 
the Italian horses were preferable to all others 
in the world. They were very handsome, 
robust, enduring, agile, courageous, and in- 
telligent, with finely shaped head and shoul- 
ders ; they were agreeable under the hand, 
and if ridden by a good horseman, they took 
a gait that was elegant and elastic, and very 
pleasant to the rider. 

Spain also was famous for her horses, espe- 
cially the celebrated Andalusians, which had 
much in common with the Neapolitan horses. 
The Moors imported Arabian blood into Spain, 
from which resulted horses of lighter weight 
and purer Eastern race. Th.^ jennets, so called, 




L," Stallion of Heavy Belgian Draft Breed 
His numerous medals are round his neck 



THE HORSE 



115 



small horses indigenous in Spain, must be ranked 
among saddle horses. They were celebrated for 
their elegance, their proud bearing, their high 
crests, their long manes, the fine action of their 
fore legs, and the elasticity of their hind ones, 
which gave to their movements a suppleness 
that all the world admired. From the fifteenth 
til the eighteenth centuries these horses were 
held in high esteem among princes and nobles, 
and e\'en in the beginning of the nineteenth 



Roumania and the other Balkan States are 
alike in possessing a breed of mountain ponies 
which have many of the characteristics of Ori- 
ental horses, to which, apparently, they are 
related. Turkey has likewise outlived her fame 
in the domain of horse raising, her horses of 
Eastern origin being highly valued in times 
past. The Sultan's stables cover a vast tract of 
ground and contain about two thousand horses 
of various origin, — Tartar, Arabian, Danish, 




Type of a Two-Year-Old Ardennes Stallion 



century they were much in demand as circus 
or riding-school horses. One or more were 
considered a princely gift. Tu-day thc_\- are 
never seen, but traces of them are still visible 
in Austria, Italy, Spain, and in some of the 
northern countries, such as Friesland and 
Denmark. Spain formerly produced a heavier 
horse, which was preferred to the foregoing for 
war and tillage. They were called vi/ldiios. 

In our day the breeding of horses in Spain 
is insignificant and very inferior to that of 
asses and mules. The few horses that remain 
are mostly sacrificed in bullfights. 



English, French, Russian, and German. A 
few zebras and splendid African quaggas are 
also kept in the stables of the Sublime Porte. 

The United States has long been a prominent 
horse-producing nation, although her horses 
are developed entirely from the horse stock 
of other countries. The prominent breeds are 
Percheron, French Draft, English Shire, Suf- 
folk Punch, Clvdesdale, and Belgium Draft for 
farm ])urposcs and for work requiring strong, 
hea\y animals ; and the French, German, Old- 
enburg, Hackney, and the Cleveland Bay for 
carriage purposes. These breeds, even when 



ii6 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



bred in a land new to them, cling with wonderful 
tenacity to original forms and characteristics. 
These imported horses are easily adaptable to 
our soil and climate, and to-day one can scarcely 




Frisian Stallion 

Four years old 

find a county in any state that does not pos- 
sess pure-blooded animals representing some 
of these breeds. 

The American trotter, the most remarkable 
of all horses, is a descendant of the English 
Thoroughbred, and has been improved and 
developed for a special purpose — 
speed. One hundred years ago there 
was no authenticated record of any 
horses going faster than a mile in 
less time than two and three-quarters 
minutes ; to-day we have records for 
one mile in two minutes, or even 
better, for Dan Patch, the pacing 
wonder, during the past summer 
covered the mile in 1.55^. 

III. Breeding of Horses 
The breeding of horses has gone 
through many modifications in the 
course of time, dating back to long- 
past ages. We still find traces of 
half-savage forms in the east of Russia and 
its adjoining regions. 

According to the direction given to breeding, 
some races have been condemned to disappear 
and give place to others that answered better 



to the requirements of owners. Thanks to 
repeated crossings in a certain direction, old 
characteristic qualities disappear and are re- 
placed by other forms and qualities. 

By continually selecting the 
heaviest animals of a heavy race, 
and giving them such food as their 
needs require, our heavy breeds of 
draft horses have been obtained, — 
horses that rear themselves like 
giants of fairy tales to the eyes of 
those who see them for the first time. 
In using for propagation the fleet- 
est animal of a fleet and noble race, 
and giving to their product an edu- 
cation that develops the muscles and 
tendons, and by carefully repressing 
all obesity, breeders are obtaining 
more and more animals of incredible 
speed, which, especially on the 
American race track, are taking less 
and less time to cover a certain distance. 

By always using the smallest specimens of a 
race of small ponies breeders have succeeded 
in producing horses no larger than mastiffs. 
A dwarf horse, two years old, exhibited in 
New York in 1901, was only twenty-three 




Frisian Stallion, Jet Black 

inches in height. Breeders also seize and repro- 
duce the freaks of nature, such as the albino 
horses (born white) of Denmark and Hanover. 
Among the most ancient stud farms we must 
rank those established by the Norman kings in 



THE HORSE 



117 



Normandy. They raised war horses, 
ponderous but rapid, and the\' e\en 
established races and formed race 
courses, an example followed later 
by monasteries and abbeys. The 
stud farm of the Abbey of Mont 
Saint Michel was long celebrated. 
Private studs were also set up by 
knights in the Middle Ages to sup- 
ply their own needs. These were 
established all along the shores of 
the North Sea and the Baltic, and 
are the places whence the cool- 
blooded horses of the present tlay 
originally came. 

In 1843 stud farms were made 
a part of the government administra- 
tion of Russia, and twenty-six such farms were 
established, with sixty stallions in each, which 
were placed gratuitously at the service of breed- 
ers. A very celebrated stud farm was estab- 
lished in 1732 in eastern Russia. At first only 
the Teutonic breeds were raised, but an im- 
portation of Neapolitan, Turkish, and English 
blood produced fine carriage horses, which 
further importations (jnly bettered. During 
the Napoleonic wars this establishment suffered 
severely and came near to being broken up, but 
in 1 8 14 a fresh importation of English and 
Oriental blood revived it. Russia now possesses 





C)1..\NI)1.1< I'ONIKS, SWhUKN 



Jutland Horse 

a vast number of such establishments where 
pure-blooded, half-blooded, and sometimes cool- 
blooded animals are raised. In the province of 
Rosen there has long been a small stud farm 
of Percherons. Such farms belong parti}' to the 
state and partly to private owners. 

Breeding establishments in the United States 
ha\'e been owned and managed by private 
parties entireh", the government never having 
assisted in the work. Importing companies 
and private individuals have imported for the 
past century many animals of various breeds 
for breeding purposes, these animals being 
^^^^ sold to farmers direct or kept for 
f f H use by those importing them. There 
is scarcely an important European 
breed that is not represented by many 
superior individuals in our country, 
either by direct importation or by 
the descendants of many individuals 
brought here, the F"rench Draft, 
Percheron, and Clydesdale being 
very numerous and scattered over 
farms throughout the (-ountry. The 
Belgian, English Shire, and Suffolk 
Punch have also gained in friends 
and numbers during recent years. 

Of the carriage breeds, the French 
Coach, German Coach, Hackney, and 
Cleveland Bays are the most popular 
and are gaining in numbers and favor. 



ii8 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



IV. The Art of Equitation 
The custom of riding on horseback is very 
ancient, but in the days of the Greek and 
Roman civilizations it became an art in which 
both man and horse were specially trained by 
the Olympic games. A magnificent circus was 
established in Constantinople, where horses 
paraded and passaded in cadence, and even 
danced, and where the art of equitation as a 



Henry VII, king of England, sent to Italy 
for instructors ; and the Italian method was 
also taught in Germany by Engelhardt in 1588. 
The doctrine of the Italian school was, gen- 
erally speaking, as follows. The body of the 
rider has two movable parts, — the upper part 
of the body and the lower part of the legs. 
The part between the waist and the knees 
should be motionless. The seat should be 




Norwegian Pasture for Horses 



spectacle attained a high degree of develop- 
ment. The animals employed were the ances- 
tors of the Neapolitan and Andalusian horses 
afterwards so renowned, and the performances 
foreshadowed the Spanish and Italian schools 
that came later. 

In the sixteenth century Pignatelli, an 
Italian nobleman, established the first riding 
schools in Naples and Pisa, although at the 
close of the fifteenth century equitation already 
followed certain fixed rules laid down by the 
court of France. 



straight, but inclining backward rather than 
forward, and the thighs must be firm against 
the saddle ; this position should be maintained 
even at full gallop. The rider should have 
recourse to none but the gentlest measures ; 
he should never use the spurs unless the horse 
refuses absolutely to obey the pressure of 
the knees, neither should he use the whip or 
the voice. But besides these general rules the 
Italian school had many little fanciful tricks that 
were difficult both for horse and rider, among 
them a passading step called the " Neapolitan." 



THE HORSE 



119 



The Spanish school represented in many 
ways the Moors and the traditions they left 
behind them ; the simple Arabian bit and stir- 
ru]is retained their Moorish form. Rut after a 



principles of his predecessor, although still rec- 
ommended, were combined with those of the 
Duke of Newcastle. At the end of the seven- 
teenth century we find the king's equcrr\-, 




1 \\ hi AI.I.ll INS 



while ultra-refinement and artificiality carried 
the day, and energy, agility, and suppleness 
were less valued than stateliness and show. 
The French school attached itself especially 
to show. Pluvinel, the first to write on 



Gaspard Saunier, exercising the veterinary art 
at Versailles, and combining it with the other 
arts of riding and horseshoeing. He also put 
his knowledge to use, with more or less success, 
in the establishment of stud farms for the 




Piki;-Ul(m)1m;i) Akaiu.an Stallions 



equitation, dedicated his book to Louis XIII, 
who was famous for his admirable seat on horse- 
back. To Pluvinel succeeded Beaurepaire, 
who published, in 1665, a book in which the 



and for private individuals. In his works on 
equitation and other branches he makes men- 
tion of the royal hunts in the forest of Fontaine- 
bleau, at which the exiled King James I of 



I20 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



England and his suite liad difficulty in following 
his majesty Louis XIV. He ranked the Arabian 
and Barbary stallions above the Spanish for 
breeding purposes, and he aided in abolishing 
certain absurdities of the Italian school. 



VM v^n M:t (M 


§1 




E " -^^i 


^^V^^^^v^^^^BBR^^^H 


1 ^ 








^i?" 

^.:- 



Kentucky Horse 

The above schools (the Latin schools) de- 
manded elegance in the horse, — the pointed 
head, the long mane, the fine swan's neck 
gracefully curved, the long and supple back, 
the slender but sinewy fore legs flung high and 
majestically (as in the "Spanish step") with 
an elastic, dancing motion. The Andalusian 
and Neapolitan horses fulfilled these require- 
ments better than all others. 



The German school, which followed the 
Latin school only to a certain point, held a 
medium place between that school and those 
of the Slav races, — Russian, Hungarian, and 
Polish. The latter governed their restive 
horses by violent means, and could never 
bring themselves to use the gentler methods 
of the Latin nations. 

Americans and their English cousins have 
always preferred the enjoyment of trotting 
and galloping across country to making any 
fine display in the riding schools. 

The rough, harsh way in which the Sla\-s 
ride is partly caused, no doubt, by their saddles, 
which project so far from the body of the horse 
that the rider cannot direct the animal by knee 
or thigh. His heels are usually under the chest 
of the horse, and he controls him entirely by 
bit and spur. He will often, in the middle of 
a gallop, fling the horse backward or to one 
side by pulUng violently on the bit, using both 
whip and voice at the same time. The saddle 
is high in front and back, and the stirrups very 
short ; consequently it is almost impossible for 
a restive horse to throw his rider. The Slavs 
never ride at a trot, but always at a walk or 
gallop. The rider often forces the animal to sit 
down on his haunches, and then he compels 




Horses in Corral, Wyoming 



THE HORSE 



121 



him with whip and spur to advance in that 
half-sitting posture. This violent treat- 
ment renders a horse obedient in a few 
days, and if he breaks a leg or strains 
a muscle in the process, what matter ? 
The steppes of the Ukraine, or eastern 
Russia, will furnish plenty more. 

Besides the systems of equitation prac- 
ticed in circuses and riding schools, there 
are rules for open-air e.vercises in which, 
added to equitation properly so called, 
there are obstacles to overcome, barriers 
to leap, and equestrian games to plaw in 
which the rider can exhibit his power 





Si'.ANisii Step 

■over his steed, together with his method 
and agility. 

Women rode on horseback in very ancient 
times, as we see by the sculptures of 
ancient Greece. One by Phidias, preserved 
in the British Museum in London, shows 
us a Thessalian woman sitting, man fashion, 
astride a horse of Thessaly, which breed 
was then held to be the finest of Grecian 
horses. This fashion of women riding 
astride continued in Europe until the 
twelfth century, when ladies' saddles were 
introduced, enabling them to sit sideways. 
Sometimes a woman rode en croupe, that 
is, behind her husband or another man. 
It is said that Oueen Elizabeth of England 



rode thus behind her grand equerry, the 
Earl of Leicester. 

The horse is easily trained to assist his 
rider in the execution of certain tricks of 
grace and skill. A tale is told of a Gascon 
horseman who rode a spirited horse hold- 
ing a piaster under each thigh, between 
each knee and the horse, and on each 
spur, without dropping a single one of 
them. I have myself seen an American 
cowboy cross at full gallop a field where 
a piece of money had been thrown upon 
the grass. Without slackening speed he 
leaned over and along the flank and belly 
of his horse, clinging to the animal with 
his legs, his head hanging low, but every 




M.AKINf; lUM Knkkl 



122 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



time he succeeded in picking up tlie coin as 
he flashed past. 

Aeronauts have been known to ascend the 
skies mounted on a Pegasus, which stood on a 
plank suspended by ropes from a balloon ; and 
riders have succeeded in training horses to 
gallop not forward but backward. The horse 
rises by jumps, and the moment the fore legs 



in eleven hours, without stopping for food 
or drink. As she entered the city the brave 
beast fell dead, — less fortunate than the more 
justly famous Roland, who brought the good 
news from Ghent to Aix. 

The use of horses in harness was far from 
being as general in former times as it is 
now ; in fact, it was much despised in the 




The Celebrated Trainer M. Oscar Carre 



touch the ground he lifts the hind legs and flings 
them backward to the ground behind him. 

A very famous English horse. Black Bess, a 
Thoroughbred mare with much Arabian blood 
in her veins, saved her no less famous, or rather 
infamous, master, Dick Turpin, the highway- 
man. When pursued by relays of archers, 
determined to capture at last so elusive a 
criminal, the mare carried him over rough 
roads and turnpike gates from London to 
York, a distance of one hundred and five miles. 



brilliant days of equestrian chivalry. When 
the upper classes began to use carriages and 
their passion for equitation lessened, the French 
and German kings and princes endeavored to 
check the innovation. Up to that time the use 
of a carriage had always been regarded as an 
effeminacy unworthy of a cavalier ; but now, 
by degrees, people began to find the new mode 
of locomotion more comfortable, and the cava- 
liers themselves began to take their ease in 
vehicles. In consequence of this, Duke Julius 



THE HORSE 



I 2 




of Brunswick felt compelled to issue an edict 
declaring that " the use of carriages was prej- 
udicial to the virile virtue, the good sense, the 
bravery, propriety, and firmness of the German 
nation, and was suitable only for lazy 
persons." It was, in fact, injuri- 
ous to the interests of kings 
and princes, because in ■ 
times of war (and those 
were incessant) vassals 
were compelled to 
assist their sovereigns 
with their persons, 
their swords, their 
horses, and their re- 
tainers ; but now (as 
the duke's edict goes on 
to say), "instead of 
themselves mounting their 
horses, the knights stayed at 
home and sent their grooms 
stewards, and other inexperienced 
rabble, not on vigorous stallions but obstacles 
on weak and puny beasts." Finally 
matters came to such a pass that the warrior 
princes found themselves forced to emjiloy 
contractors who, for stipulated sums of moncw 
undertook to procure both men and horses. 

The same condition of affairs 
existed in Spain at nearly the same 
epoch. The grandees, who formerly 
mounted their horses to display their 
prowess with the lance as they had 
seen it practiced by the Moors, or to 
fight wild bulls in the arena, now 
began to imitate the prelates, who 
were dragged about comfortably in 
coaches drawn by mules. A Spanish 
grandee complained of it thus: 
" Formerly there were brigands who 
comported themselves like knights 
and great matadores ; the brigands 
of the present day are beggars and 
the matadores bunglers." 

Philip II, king of Spain, took this 
matter to heart in 1562. He issued 
decrees against the breeding of mules 
and tried to encourage that of horses. 



In England carriages came into use in the 
second half of the sixteenth century, during 
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The first coach 
was imported by the Earl of Arundel, to take 
the place of the queen's sedan chair, 
-^ and to spare her the annoyance 
f riding pillion behind her 
rand equerry. In France 
we find mention of the 
first coaches for hire in 
1550. Thus it ap- 
pears that vehicles 
began to take the 
place of equestrian- 
ism in all countries at 
about the same period, 
— a period correspond- 
g to that of a reform 
n the intellectual world. 
Chariots of war were known 
to antiquity. When Julius 
Cassar conquered Britain in 55 B.C., 
J he encountered Briton warriors 

TO LEAP 

seated in formidable chariots armed 
with scythes fixed to the wheels. Even in Rome 
the use of vehicles was early known, but none 
but victors, vestal virgins, and certain author- 
ities were allowed to use them, and they could 




124 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Ready to Start 

move only by daylight. These chariots had two 
wheels ; the carpentiim had a hood, and the 
pilentum was uncovered, or, at most, had 
a canopy. The triumphal car of victors 
and the racing chariots, harnessed often 
with three horses, also had two wheels. 
The carruca, an elegant carriage for luxury, 
adorned with gold, silver, and ivory, had 
four wheels. Its name has come down to 
the present day in many languages : car- 
riiccio, Italian; karos, kar, karrikel, north 
of Europe ; carrosse, carrousel, French ; 
carriage, English. 

In consequence of the bumps experi- 
enced on rough and stony roads it was 
thought advisable, after a time, to suspend 
the seat between four wheels by leather 
straps. In the sumptuous seventeenth 
century they used a sort of artistically 



decorated swing, slowly drawn 
by proud and splendid Anda- 
lusian horses, flanked on each 
side by two servants, whose 
business it was to hold up the 
machine when it threatened 
to fall, or to right it if it fell. 

The use of leather straps 
for the purpose of lessening 
rough shocks is still continued 
in Holland, though steel 
springs have long since taken 
their place elsewhere. There- 
fore the few Dutch carriages 
of this kind that still exist 
maybe regarded as curiosities. 

In our day it has become 
an art, and even a science, to 
drive a coach or carriage. The 
art consists in going whereso- 
ever we desire, in guiding the 
horses by reins, whip, and 
\oice in a way to make a good 
appearance, and in so manag- 
ing that the horses suffer as 
little as possible from their 
work, and that the equipage 
goes forward so regularly and 
tranquilly that the people 
within it do not perceive the pace at \\'hich it 




A Noble Breed 



126 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



goes nor the obstacles on the road which it over- 
comes or avoids. The Hungarians are known 
for their skillfulness in this art, and the Eng- 
lish and Americans have also carried it far. 




Inspection of a Riding-School Hoi 

The method of driving horses has often been 
changed. At one time each horse of a pair had 
a bridle and rein to himself, so that one horse 
could be stopped without pulling on the other. 
To make them turn to the right 
a strap was fastened to the 
right of the jaw of the near 
horse, which crossed to the 
left shoulder of the off horse. 
They were turned to the left 
in the same way. To-day we 
use cross reins, that is to say, 
the two reins in the hands of 
the driver each divide into twi > 
at the shoulder, the correspond- 
ing end of each going to the 
left side of each horse's bit, 
while the same is done for the 
right side. This arrangement, 
far more convenient in the mat- 
ter of turning, presents certain 
inconveniences when driving 
two horses of different tem- 
peraments. 

In agricultural work done with quiet horses 
the driver often has but the two reins going 



from his hand to the exterior side of each 
horse's bit, and united by a transversal strap 
between the animals. 

The qualities required in a good driver are 
a gentle hand, skill, presence 
of mind, love for his horses 
(whom he ought to know thor- 
oughly), good sense, patience, 
courage, strength, and a cer- 
tain elegance ; he should be 
absolutely without roughness 
of any kind. Besides all this he 
should be sufficiently trained 
to his business, for no one is 
born a driver. 

It is a bad driver, or rather 
not a driver at all, who does 
not know his horses through 
and through, — their charac- 
ter, humor, and temperament 
as well as their faults. He 
needs patience to conquer 
quietly the capricious humor or resistance of 
his animals without himself being excited by 
their fits of temper. Courage and strength will 
surely enable him to master their obstinacy. 







t 


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-,-■-""!-'■"■' ;;--;5-t;; 


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■■■ A Young Cavalier 

which, of course, it is absolutely essential that 
he should do. 



THE HORSE 



127 




skill and courage which are nothing extraordi- 
nary, though always dangerous. To skirt at full 
gallop deep gullies and ravines and the rocky 
slopes of mountains needs a courage and cool- 
ness which arc not given to every one. 

It is a great test of strength and skill to drive 
a four-in-hand, sometimes a six-in-hand, and 




A Goon TvPF- or S.addi.k House 

In Austria and in our western mountain- 
ous section are the most remarkable exam- 
ples of intrepidity and skill in the art of 
driving" horses. To mount and descend 
flights of steps, to approach a precipice with 
four horses at full speed and be able to stop occasionallv eight or nine. The more horses, the 
them short at the crucial moment, are acts of more reins for the driver to hold, and if he is 



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iKX Whiti: (Ai.iiiMi) 



128 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 







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in 


3pW 


1 



English Hansom C\b 

not very experienced he is liable to 
mistake the pairs and thus cause 
accidents. It is related that an Eng- 
lish breeder, Mr. Emody, was driving 
along the road from Westminster 
to Greenwich with a carriage full of 
musicians, drawn by twelve pairs of 
horses, which he drove himself from 
the box. Two outriders preceded 
him as heralds, and two others 
escorted the vehicle, to be ready in 
case of accident. Emody seemed to 
have little trouble in driving his 
twenty -four steeds, holding the mass 
of reins in one hand as easily as the 



driver of an omnibus holds those of 
his poor old horses. In spite of the 
long distance and the many turns of 
the road, not the slightest accident 
happened, and the trip was made in 
two hours and twenty-five minutes. 
Any one who takes a bunch of 
twenty-four reins in his hand will 
agree that there is no question of 
really guiding the horses. Hard to 
hold in any case, how can the driver 
select the pair he may suddenly need ? 
There are some men, however, who- 
have luck in this world. How often 
we see a sleeping cartman or a 




A Well-Harnessed Horse 




A Set of Six 



drunken cabman arrive safe 
at his destination to the 
amazement of on-lookers ! 

The matter is much simpler 
with an equipage harnessed 
a la Daumont, where a postil- 
ion sits on the left-hand horse 
of each pair of four, six, or 
eight horses, as the case may 
be, and guides his own horse 
and the one beside him, the 
coachman being responsible 
for the wheel horses only ; in 
fact, it is possible to advance 
without any coachman at all. 

The harnessing of two 
horses tandem was original!}' 



THE HORSE 



129 




A Famots .Si\-H()i;sh Tka.m 



devised to assist a sini,de horse in i^ullini;' a load 
too heavy for him on a road too narrow to ad- 
mit of two horses abreast. Later it was adopted 
as a means of sliowintj" fine horses to advantage, 



and for giving proofs of skill. To prevent the 
long reins from flapping, rings are attacheil he- 
hind the head of the wheel horse, through which 
the forward reins are passed. On a straight 




First I'ki/i:, WOkk-Hoksk I'.xh.xdk. ii 



I30 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



road this system of harnessing works well with 
docile horses, which are willing to go easily and 
steadily, but special aptitude and much practice 

are requirctl to make ewilutions corrcctlx". 



regularly in the same wheel rut that he made 
in the sand at starting. However, Plato, the 
philosopher, thought that a man who bestowed 

uch ijains upon futile things must naturalh' 




A Set of Nine 



It is thought a great test of skill to drive 
a four-wheeled carriage in such a way that one 
of the wheels (selected in advance) shall crush 
an egg ; or to stop the vehicle at the precise 
moment when the chosen wheel covers a piece 
of money that has been laid upon the ground. 



neglect those that are more important and 
more worthy of admiration, 

V. War 

In war the horse formerly had a far more 
important part than he has in these days, when 




Watering 



It is related that in ancient times a Greek 
named Arniceris carried the noble art of driv- 
ing to such perfection that he made the cir- 
cuit of an amphitheater several times, stopping 



civilization has made such strides that men can 
perfectly well kill each other without the help 
of brute beasts. In ancient times warriors rode 
their horses bareback, as we see in the antique 




A Prize- \ViNMN(; Ti:am in Ciiir.\( 




Tkam of Fakm H(irsi;s, Ohio 



132 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



statues, that of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, for 
instance. Neither bit nor bridle was used to 
hold or guide them ; often the rider had nothing 
but a species of headband that pressed upon 
the nose, and to which the reins were attached 
by a ring. The excavations at Pompeii have 
brought to light many fine models of these 
headbands. The Romans had long used sad- 
dles, while the Germans, regarding them as 
unmanly and enervating, preferred to ride 



did not excel either in strength or in speed, 
and that their riders did not train them, as 
did the Romans, to gallop round the enemy 
whom they assailed with their arrows, but 
made them go straight forward, or, at best, 
swerve a little to the right. Horace complains 
of the effeminacy of his times. " The young 
man of good family," he says, " no longer 
understands the art of riding a horse and of 
subduing the restive chargers of the Gauls." 





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bareback. Before the latter learned to use 
saddles they put the skins of animals on the 
backs of their horses, but used no stirrups. 

The ancient Greeks had cavalry, and we 
know that Sesostris, king of Egypt, led many 
mounted warriors into battle. These same 
Greeks as well as the Romans wrote books on 
the equine race. Hippocrates states that the 
Scythians were afflicted with certain maladies 
caused by riding without stirrups. Tacitus 
transmits to us details on the horses and cav- 
alry of the Germans. He says that these horses 



During the Crusades the Western knights 
saw and learned the manner in which the 
Eastern warriors, the Saracens, saddled and 
rode their steeds. We refer our readers to tlje 
graphic pages of Sir Walter Scott for a descrip- 
tion of a combat between a heavily armed 
Scottish knight and a Moorish emir. 

In our day the ponderous animals of the 
days of chivalry and their heavy trappings have 
been replaced by the much lighter horses of our 
cavalry, though the artillery and the transporta- 
tion trains still require powerful draft horses. 



THE HORSE 



133 



According to a record made in 1901, the [ 
number of horses emiiloyed b_\' the great 
military powers is as loUows : 



In • 


■iMFs ni. Peace 


In T.mks ..f \ 


France . . . 


143,000 . . 


. 400,000 


Russia 


140,000 . . 


. 450,000 


Germany 


125,000 


400,000 


Italy .... 


So, 000 


. 245,000 


Austria . . . 


78,000 . . 


. 250,000 


England . . . 


1 9,000 . . 


70,000 


United States . 


7,436 ■ . 


. 1,000,000 



On all sides we find a tendenc}' to stop the 
buying of war horses in foreign countries, 
each country seeking to supply its own r._-- 
mounts. One of the great cares of all niilitar) 
powers should be to have at their disposal, 
in case of war, as many horses as possible. 

Yet the different European states do not 
all remount in the same manner. Prussia, 
which requires annually nine thousand re- 
mount horses, buys them, when three or four 
years old, within its own borders, especially 
in eastern Prussia, and also a few in Han- 
over. They are then divided among seven- 
teen remount stations, each of which covers 
from about twenty-two hundred to four thou- 
sand acres of land, so that the animals never 
suffer from want of movement in fresh air. 

Saxony needs twelve hundred remounts 
annually, which she obtains equally from eastern 
Prussia and Hanover. She has five stations, three 
of which have existed for nearly three centuries. 

Wurttemburg demands annually five hundred 
remounts, which are bought of two ages (four 
to six, and three to four) and sent to Breithiilen, 





TVPF.S OF C.W.VLKV HoRSF.S 



The St.\tve of Wu.liam the Silent 
AT Tiir: HACiCE 

a remount station founded in 1S98. The other 

German states obtain their militar\- horses 

from Prussia. 

Italy has an annual need of thirty-six hundred 

remounts for her one hundred and forty-four 
squadrons of cavalry and her 
twenty-six artillery regiments. 
I-"ormerIy she drew them in 
great ])art from Hungary, Ger- 
man) , and Denmark, but since 
the \ear 1S88 she has obtained 
them within her own borders. 
The)' are mostly bought as foals 
and brought up at the remount 
stations. In 1 897 urgent need 
obligetl the government to im- 
port one thousand remount ani- 
mals from Hungary. 



134 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Remounts 

The system of remount as applied in Norway 
is peculiar. The necessary horses are deli\'ered 
by the owners of certain farms, who 
are legally bound to supply them. 
This bond, or obligation, is ver}- 
ancient, and dates back probably to 
the time when the nobles were 
obliged in times of war to furnish 
their sovereign with a certain num- 
ber of horse and foot soldiers. 

In Sweden, where the number of 
military horses is about six thousand, 
they have an annual need of five 
hundred and forty remounts, which 
are all bought in the interior of the 
country, at an age varying from three 
to six years ; part of them are formetl 
immediately into a corps, the rest 
being sent to the remount stations. 

France needs annually fifteen 
thousand young horses ; those for 
the cavalry are bought when three years and 
a half old and sent to the stations, whereas the 
draft horses are five years old when bought, 



and are then sent directly to 
the regiments. These horses 
are chiefly drawn from Nor- 
mandy. The French remount 
stations differ from those of 
nearly all other nations. 
Horses are there trained and 
delivered, properly taught, to 
the regiments, whereas in 
nearly all other countries food 
and proper care is all that the 
governments give to their 
remounts. In fact, in some 
countries there is a practice of allowing con- 
tractors to feed and care for the young horses. 





Exercise in Drawing 



Raising the Leg of a Restive Horse 

The French government takes the greatest 
pains to favor the production of good animals, 
as the country is lacking in good stock. It 
has even introduced a system 
of premiums for remounts, 
which amounted in 1899 to 
one hundred and twenty-five 
thousand francs (^25,000). 
These premiums are in pro- 
portion to the good qualities 
of the animals, but they can- 
not go beyond twenty-five 
hundred francs (;^SOO) per 
horse. The price of a remount 



THE HORSE 



):> 



varies from twelve to eighteen Inindred francs 
(S240 to $360), so that a single horse may 
possibly cost the state forty-three hundred 
francs (S860). 

Because of these measures, and of the fact 
that three thousand stallions are placed at the 
disposal of breeders and divided among all 
the stations, the French government succeeds 
in supplying itself with remounts from the 
home country. These stallions, however, cost 
the country eight million francs ($1,600,000) 
annually, while in other ways more than six- 
teen million (^3,200,000) are expended each 
year on the breeding and training of military 
horses. 

Austria-Hungary requires annually eight 
thousand remounts, which are easy to find 
within the borders of that country. In 1890 
the government began to establish remount 
stations, which now number five. One part of 
the remounts remain there a year ; the other 
part, bought when five years of age, are sent 
immediately to the various regiments. 



Switzerland has an annual need of six hun- 
dred remounts, which are bought in northern 
(German)' and Ireland. The young horses spend 




A C.XPTAIN OF THE REPUBLICAN GUARD 

five months in getting acclimated at the re- 
mount station at Berne. They are then- sent to 
a school for remounts to be trained. Formerly 




136 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



every mounted Swiss 
soldier supplied his own 
horse. Nothing remains of 
this custom but the fact 
that each man in the cav- 
alry service may become 
the possessor of his horse 
on certain conditions and 
by paying a certain sum ; 
also he may do what he 
likes with the animal when 
he is not in service. In case 
of a call to active service 
he must bring his horse 
(which has, meantime, been 
annually inspected) until 
the tenth year, when the 
animal becomes his exclu- 
sive property. It would be 
difficult to cite a better ex- 
ample of Swiss democracy 
and individualism. 

Spain has a cavalry of 
ten thousand horses, the 
artillery and the transpor- 
tation trains being usually served by mules. The 
remounts are bought in the country itself, 
except a few heavy draft horses which are 
imported from Belgium. 




Hold Fir.m ! 




The Republican Guard, Full Dress 



Portugal, with four thou- 
sand military horses, needs 
four hundred remounts 
annually, which are bought 
at home wherever they can 
be had without attaching 
much importance to qual- 
ity. They are from three 
to seven years old when 
bought, and the youngest 
are sent to the remount 
station of Villa Vi^osa. 

Servia, which in times of 
peace maintains six thou- 
sand cavalry, draws her 
remounts chiefly from Rus- 
sia and Austria. 

Turkey possesses (on 
paper) in times of peace 
a force of three thousand 
cavalry. The remounts are 
bought from Russia and 
Hungary, when there hap- 
pens to be money enough 
to do so. The Turks appear 
to attach more importance to cheapness than 
to quality. 

In Russia, according to the system of re- 
mounting employed until January i, 1901, the 
officers on remount duty bound them- 
selves to deliver the horses at a 
medium price, and in so doing played 
the part of horse jockeys. At pres- 
ent Russian remounting is done in 
the German manner, that is to say, 
by military commissions for the pur- 
chase of animals. A certain number 
of horses are drawn from the stud 
farms of the state. Some regiments 
buy their own mounts, the Cossack 
regiments furnishing theirs and pro- 
viding for them in every particular. 
The government encourages the 
breeding of the Cossack horses by 
distributing three hundred stallions 
annually among the Cossack villages. 
Roumania in times of peace counts 
twelve thousand cavalry, and fifty 



THE HORSE 



137 




thousand in times of war. Her remounts come 
chiefly from Hungary, only a few being obtained 
within her own borders. 

Belgium has more than ten thousand horses, 
and her annual remount is one thousand ; the 
draft or transportation horses are easily derived 
from the Ardennes. The breeding of cavalry 
horses is encouraged to the utmost by the 
government. 

England has an annual need of nearly three 
thousand remounts, which it is easy to obtain 
in that country itself. The government takes 
no interest in breeding, except in the poorest 
districts of Ireland, where it has stationed a 
few Hackney stallions. 

Lu.xemburg, having a cavalry force of eight 
horses, finds little difficult}- in the matter of 
remounts. 

The Netherlands has eight thousand military 
horses, of which all those for the cavalry and 
artillery come from Ireland, while about a hun- 
dred heavier horses are annually bought in the 
provinces of Groningen and Gelderland. They 
are bought at three and four years of age and 
spend one year at Millingen in large stables 



that communicate with vast fields, where they 
can run at liberty. Nourishing food, much 
exercise, and fresh air jTrepare these horses 




HOKSF. OK .\ GeRM.W .XKTH.I.I.KV OI I K l.K 



138 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



wonderfully well for their work. After passing 
another six months in training at the regimen- 
tal stations they are drafted into the squadrons 
or the batteries. 

VI. Hunting 

After war came hunting as the next neces- 
sity in which men learned to use horses, as 

we see by the statues and engrav- - -t- 

ings that represent to us 
St. George hunting the 
dragon and comin 
victorious from 
the fight. / 

The de- 
struction 
of d 
gerous 
and 



Hunting has always been an English passion 
which, like many other sports and bodily exer- 
cises, has passed from Great Britain to the 
Continent and to America. This explains why 
the English have applied themselves especially 
to the breeding of hunting horses. The country 
itself, by the lay of its land, is very favorable to 
cynegetic exercises, having few cur\'es and many 
-^:^gj^,^_^__^ plains with only such obstacles and 
barriers as a horse can jump. 
The annals of hunting 
England are very 
interesting to 
those who 
have a taste 
for that 
ort of 
thing. 
It is 




mischie- 
vous ani 
mals, which 
at first was a 
necessity, be- 
came very quickly a 
pleasure, and has ended 
in becoming an art, thanks tr 
the enjoyment derived from motion 
in the open air, and from the pleasure 
of surmounting obstacles and braving dangers. 
The death of the hunted animal is only an 
accessory; the seekirtg of the dogs, the joyous 
sound of the huntsman's horn, the pleasure 
of proving to others our agility, strength, 
courage, intrepidity, — herein lies the true joy 
of hunting. 



German 



related 

that early 

in the last 

century a 

deer, hunted by 

the hounds of the 

king of England, ran 

for four hours and forty-five 

mmutes. Rider after rider gave up 
Bodyguard ^^^^ ^^^^j^ ^j^^ ^^ ^^^^ q^^ ^^^.^^ 

fell dead, another expired before he reached the 
stable, and seven others died during the follow- 
ing week (a mortality as great as or even greater 
than that of a Spanish bullfight). Huntsmen 
never lose sight of the game, which can, there- 
fore, never slacken its speed or rest for a single 
instant. For the best horse a run of four hours 



140 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Horses of the English Army 



and forty minutes at full gallop across all sorts 
of ground and over many obstacles is sure to 
result in either permanent injury or death. 

Here are a few instances in which the Eng- 
lish passion for hunting wild animals has been 
carried to extravagant excess. The old Duke 
of Richmond suffered so much from the gout 




Training to Hunt 



that he had to be lifted onto his horse, and 
being unable to hold the reins, they were passed 
round his neck. And thus he was seen to ride 
down the slopes of Bow Hill, near Goodwood, 
at full gallop after the hounds, with all the fire 
of youth, his arms crossed on his breast. 

An old general, who had had his left arm 
shot off near the shoulder, leaving only a 
little stump under which he could hold his 
whip, kept up with the boldest huntsman of 
the county of Kildare, the hardest hunting 
ground in Ireland, keeping with the hounds 
in places where the most experienced riders 
found it difficult to retain their seats. 

A third case is that of an old English 
nobleman who, on becoming blind, was un- 
able to relinquish his mastering passion. He 
persisted in following the hounds attended 
by a valet, who shouted to his master as 
each obstacle loomed in sight : " Bank ! " 
— " Brook ! " — " Wall ! " — " Fence ! " — 
" Jump and jump ! " — meaning two ditches, 



THE HORSE 



141 



requiring the horse first to jump 
down and then to jump up. In 
this way that old bhnd niaii 
hunted for several years. Some- 
times the valet, not being Sd 
good a rider as his master, 
"came a cropper" in a ditch, 
while the old man continued his 
way, trusting to the instinct of 
his horse, the horn of the hunts- 
man, or the cry of the dogs. 

The taste for hunting is Sd 
popular both in England and 
in Ireland that a fox chased by 
hounds and huntsmen puts a 
whole countryside in commo- 
tion. The plowman unhooks a 
horse from his plow, jumps 
upon his back, and follows the hunt as far 
as the beast has strength to go. The Irish 
peasant does better still, because the first 
horse he can lay hands on is almost sure tn 




TRAINIXf 



Hunt 



be a Thoroughbred. Others ride donkeys, or 
race along on foot, or mount some vantage 
ground whence they can admire the good riders 
and make fun of the bad ones. 




142 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



To make it possible for people of small 
means to enjoy this sport, many hunting soci- 
eties have been organized, the members of 
which contribute stated sums for the main- 
tenance of wolves, deer, hounds, hunts- -/.tv; 
men, and horses. A red coat 
a high hat are obligatory 
owner of the dogs carries 
a horn, and all the othe 
participants only a hunt- 
ing crop. 

The animals chiefly 
hunted are hares, stags, 
and foxes. The practice 
of hunting hares is said 
to be thousands of years 
old ; that of hunting stags 
is also very ancient, and i 
carried on with animals kept 
and trained for this purpose, 
all know the Draconian laws of 
William the Conqueror (eleventh cen- j^p^ Qp 
tury), who ordered that all dogs in a 
hunting country should have three of their toes 
cut off to keep them from following the hounds. 

As for fox hunting, which is really the prin- 
cipal sport, the foxes are cared for and pro- 
tected in every way. In some districts a hunt 
takes place three times a week ; a good horse 





The Favorite 



can be used for two of them, though one is 
often quite enough for him. Fox hunting is 
especially hard and fatiguing for horses. 

VII. R.ACING 

Races under their present form 
were first known in Eng- 
land, where we find them in 
the Middle Ages ; these 
were frequently like the 
steeplechases of our 
day. Such games were 
called " clock races," 
and the prizes were 
generally little wooden 
clocks, or clock towers, 
decorated with flowers ; 
er these prizes were made 
in silver. From them comes 
term " steeplechase." 
Race courses were legally organized 
Hunter ^^ ^^^ reign of James I, who is regarded 
as the creator of this sport. Charles I 
organized race courses in Hyde Park and at 
Newmarket, and Cromwell's equerry. Place, is 
mentioned in the stud book (the register for 
Thoroughbreds) and in the racing calendar 
(record book of races) as being the owner of 
very beautiful Eastern stallions which " shone 
upon the ground." 

Races, however, did not 
acquire their full development 
until the reign of Charles II, 
who imported Arabian mares, 
called royal mares. About the 
year 1700 Eastern stallions 
were imported, with which the 
true history of racing begins. 
One of the most celebrated race 
horses was Eclipse, descended 
in direct male line from the 
Arabian stallion bought near 
Aleppo by the merchant Bar- 
ley ; through his mother Eclipse 
he also had Oriental blood in 
his veins. Born in 1764, he was 
gray in color, tall, and long in 
body. History tells that he was 



THE HORSE 



143 



never distanced, and never needed either 
whip or spur. 

Flying Dutchman, born in 1846, had 
already run fi\'e races when he was two 
and a half years old, winning two |)rizes 
(;£iiOO and ;£500) at Newmarket, one 
(;£i200) at Liverpool, and two (;£825 and 
;£500) at Doncaster. When three years 
old he won the Derby (^^6320), and when 
four years old he won the cup given by the 
czar of Russia at Ascot. Besides these 
prizes he won ;^6o,ooo at other races for 
his owner. Lord Eglinton. When five years 
old he won a match for ;f looo against 
Voltigeur, a worthy rival. At the start 
Voltigeur got a lead of three lengths, which 
he kept nearly all the way. Towards the 
close, however, Flying Dutchman, urged 
by his jockey, put forth his full strength 
and easily beat his competitor. The dis- 
tance done was two English miles, and the time 
was three minutes and thirty-three seconds. 

Several sorts of races exist for each of 
which there are distinct and fi.xed rules and 




Re.adv i-ok the Race 

regulations. Of these different races, the prin- 
cipal are the following. 

A "match" is a simple race between two 
horses, in which much money is often staked. 




144 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



In 1799 Hambletonian and Diamond ran for a 
sum of three thousand guineas at Newmarket. 

A "sweepstakes" is a race in which several 
horses may take part, the winner taking the 
total of the stakes. 

The "king's or queen's plate" is a prize given 
by the sovereign ; formerly it consisted of some 
object of art, but of late it has taken the form 
of a purse containing one hundred guineas. 



chances are that all the horses will be equal. 
When the weighting is made known on the 
morning of the race any owner who is dissat- 
isfied may withdraw his horse without paying 
a forfeit. 

Newmarket is a little town where the most 
numerous and most important races are held. 
The land is perfectly smooth and even, and 
verv favorable for what are called flat rari?s 



mssm 



IB I I I 




D 




Quo Vadis 



The "Derby" is a race run at Epsom by 
three-year-old stallions. 

The " Oaks stake " is also run at Epsom by 
three-year-old fillies, while the St. Leger is run at 
Doncaster by three-year-old horses of all kinds. 

A "handicap" is run by different partici- 
pants, but the weight they carry varies accord- 
ing to the way they have run in previous races. 
If the handicapper, that is the man who dis- 
tributes the weights, knows his business, the 



in contradistinction to steeplechases, or races 
over barriers and obstacles. The Newmarket 
races often last a week, excluding Sunday. 
There are twenty different tracks and several 
trainers' stables. The king of England, who has 
a large stud of racers and is an ardent sports- 
marf, has an establishment at Newmarket in 
charge of the trainer Richard Marsh. One can 
often see the king himself, mounted on a stout 
pony, superintending the training of his horses. 



THE HORSE 



145 




Ever}^ clay on the plain around Newmarket 
over one hundred of the most celebrated horses 
in England can be seen. 

Training, professionally so called, has for its 
object to develop and strengthen by exercise, 
and to brintr a varict\- of humors out of the 



body by sweating and laxative dosing. Sweat- 
ing is induced by galloping the animal under 
woolen blankets ; he is physicked by pills com- 
posed chiefly of aloes. Thus the body is kept 
slim, especially the stomach, which sometimes 
appears drawn in like that of a greyhound, 




•iJi.KiiV Dav" in our Day 



146 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Scene at Newmarket 



while the formation of fat and of ligaments 
between the muscles and the tendons is checked 
as much as possible. For the sarhe reasons the 
horse receives but a moderate though substan- 
tial amount of food. This regimen is naturally 
a test of the animal's strength ; many of them 
succumb under it. 

The jockeys train themselves in very much 
the same way. They present, like their horses, 



a spare appearance, lean and skinny, but agile 
and vigorous, — an appearance not seen out- 
side racing stables. On the other hand, good 
jockeys can feather their nests so well that 
they soon bid adieu to saddles and starvation, 
and pass the rest of their lives in pretty villas, 
where they at once recover their plumpness. 
Betting is inseparable from a race course, and 
is often the cause of swindling. It frequently 




The Race Won 



THE HORSE 



147 




happens that those who have bet on a horse 
employ all means to render a dangerous rival 
harmless. Here is an illustration. 

The Duke of Queensberry, 
an excellent horseman him- 
self, received notice from his 
jockey, who was to ride for 
him the next day, that he had 
been offered a considerable 
sum of money from persons 
who had backed another 
horse, if he would restrain the 
duke's horse and let himself 
be beaten. "Accept the 
nioncw" said the duke, "and 
come upon the course to- 
morrow with the horse as if 
nothing had happened." The 
jockey did so, but just before 
the start was made the duke 
said suddenly, " The weather 
is so fine I think I will ride 
my own horse." So saying, 
he threw off his cloak and ap- 
peared in jockey dress. He 
won the race and caused the 
loss of many bets that were 
dependent upon the bribe, so 
that the swindlers themselves 



were the victims of their own 
cheating. 

Enormous sums are often 
])aid for good race horses, 
which is not surprising inas- 
much as enormous sums may 
be won with them. In March, 
1900, at a public sale of the 
horses of the Duke of West- 
minster, the celebrated racer 
Flying Fox, which had won 
the Derby the preceding year, 
was bought for ;^200,ooo, by 
the celebrated French breeder 
of Thoroughbreds, M. Edmond 
Blanc. Up to that time this 
was the highest sum ever 
given for a horse. At two 
years of age this stallion had 
raced three times and carried off two prizes ; at 
three years he raced six times and was victor 
in all. Bv eleven races, won by him before he 
was four years old, he 
earned for his master 
$200,441. F"or his half- 
brother Frontier the 
French government paid 
150,000 francs ($30,000). 
When Flying F"ox reached 
F"rance he was put at the 
service of breeders for two 
thousand dollars per mare. 
The Duke of Westmin- 
ster had sold in 1889, at the 
reduced and trifling price 





A SurKKii Ji'.Mi' 



148 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



of $24,000, the stallion Ormond, grandsire of 
Flying Fox, who had a defect in breathing. 
Bought by the Argentine Republic, this horse 
was afterward sold in this country for the sum 
of ;g 105, 000. 

All this proves that other countries besides 
the United States value pure blood and are 
taking interest in races and the breeding of 
racing horses. 

VIII. Trotting Races 
The trot is a method of progression that is 
more or less artificial and acquired ; it is 
unknown, one might say, to horses in their 
natural state, their primitive gait being either 
a walk or a gallop. Certain horses and certain 
breeds have shown more disposition than others 
to acquire the trot, and as a result of breed- 
ing with that end constantly in view, races 
of trotters have been formed of which the 
Dutch, or Frisian, is the most ancient. Others 
came later, like the Norfolk trotter of Eng- 
land, the Russian Orloff , the English Hackney, 
and the American trotter, but in every case the 
Frisian trotter contributed to produce them. 



in studying the subject of breeding horses, 
whose value depends on speed at a certain 
gait. The order or movement in the trot is 
left fore foot, right hind foot, right fore foot, 



M 


^ 








kf* 


f^r 


' 




If 


™ 






Trinqueur, French Tkuttkr 

To persons accustomed to horses the differ- 
ences of the various gaits are familiar, but to 
fix them thoroughly in mind is a first necessity 



CRESCEUS 2.02)4 

left hind foot. Thus the left fore foot and right 
hind foot move in unison, striking the ground 
together ; then in turn the right fore foot and 
left hind foot complete the revolution, making 
the trot a diagonal gait. The pace or amble 
is an entirely different gait, the feet of each 
side moving in unison, making 
a lateral order of progression 
instead of the diagonal as in 
the trot. 

Sport with trotting horses 
is quite ancient in the Low 
Countries of Europe ; it is 
one of the oldest amusements 
there, together with skating, 
tennis, and partridge shoot- 
ing. It has certainly con- 
tributed to form a race of 
trotters which now enjoys a 
European reputation. The 
best horses of the Dutch 
breed were bought by other 
countries, and by coupling 
them with the supple and 
more fiery Eastern breeds a 
race of trotters surpassing 
their Frisian ancestors has been obtained. 

The French trotter distinguished himself 
chiefly on a short-distance track, say of three 



THE HORSE 



149 



or ftmr hundred yards. It often happened that 
these races were started by some tavern keeper, 
who offered one or more prizes to the victor ; 
" but," says the Ecuycr Necrlaiidais, " the trot- 
ters must be lodged in the tavern keeper's 
stable, and whoso obtains the prize is expected 
to feast his rivals and supply them with a cer- 
tain number of bottles of wine." 

In former times the Parisian races were 
trotted on horseback on short-distance tracks. 
These have now given way to races in sulkies 
(light, single-seated vehicles) on tracks rar.^ing 



that does not include horse racing among its 
many attractions. Many of the large cities 
also have race tracks, controlled by driving or 
racing associations, where annual meets are 
held, rival horses being sent from long dis- 
tances to compete for the money prizes and 
to contest for the favors of the large numbers 
of people who gather daily to enjoy this royal 
sport. 

The gray race horse Messenger has played 
the most important part in founding the trot- 
ting breed in the United States. Our many 




m^^i&i 



in length from one-half mile to a mile, on which 
the Russian Orloff and the American trotter 
particularly distinguish themselves in the north 
of Europe and in the United States. This old 
popular amusement has become a science and 
an art, in which, however, the practical and 
profitable object is not lost sight of. Every 
effort is made to keep the trotting horse well 
balanced, that is to say, to keep him to his trot 
with the utmost possible rapidity without degen- 
erating into a gallop. The speed disjilayed in 
these races is something extraordinary. 

American people especially have always been 
enthusiastic supporters of trotting races, and 
to-day there is scarcely a county or state fair 



famous families of trotting horses have been 
built upon Messenger, who was imported to 
this country during the latter part of the 
eighteenth century. This famous horse was 
foaled in 17S0 in England. Me was sired by 
Mambrino out of a daughter of Turf. Mam- 
brino was by Engineer, son of Sampson, by 
Blaze, by Flying Childers, son of the Darley 
Arabian, a horse imported to England from 
the Orient in the reign of Queen Anne. Turf, 
the reputed sire of the dam of Messenger, was 
by Matchem, son of Cade, by the Godolphin 
Arabian. The four chief families of the Ameri- 
can trotting horse are Hambletonian, the Mam- 
brino Chief, the Clays, and the Black Hawks. 



I50 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Just when racing at either the trotting, run- 
ning, or pacing gait began in America it is diffi- 
cult to determine ; but there is a record of a 




Hamhi,i:toxiax Stam.ion 

running race on Hempstead Heath, Long 
Island, in 1665. There is a recorded trotting 
performance at Harlem, New York, July 6, 
1806, at which time Yankee trotted a mile in 
2.50. At Philadelphia, in August, 1810, a Bos- 
ton horse trotted a mile in 2. 48}^. Perhaps 
these records fairly represent the speed limit 
in America a century ago. If we take it for 
granted that Yankee could trot a mile in 2.50 




Average Extreme Speed 

1820 to 1830 2.42 

1S30 to 1840 2.3S'4: 

1840 to 1850 2.28^ 

1850 to i860 2.25 

i860 to 1870 2.18^4: 

1870 to 1880 2.14 

1880 to 1890 2.10^ 

iSgo to igoo ~-°3/i 

igoi to igo7 i-SS^^" 

This evolution of speed is due to skill in 
breeding and training and to improved tracks, 
appliances, and methods. 

Just what rate of speed the trotter will ulti- 
mately attain is a question much discussed, and 
any attempt to answer is the merest speculation. 
In view of the fact that the trotting breed is 
still in its infancy, and that the average of 




Dan Patch 1.55^ 



extreme trotting speed is still advancing, it 
would be absurd to fi.x a hmit and a time when 
progress will suddenly cease. Of course im- 
provement in speed becomes more difficult as 
the rate increases, but we may yet see many 
old records broken and many new champions 
come into favor and fame. If in one century of 
time more than fifty seconds were clipped from 
the record, surely in another century may we 
not expect a quarter or even half as much ? 

IX. The Treatment of Horses 
The services that the horse renders to man, 



in 1806 in contrast with the 1.58^ of Lou and the pleasures he procures for him, give 
Dillon in 1904, we have a difference of .51^ in him a right to conscientious care, good food, 
a century. and charitable treatment. Yet how often these 



THE HORSE 



151 



duties to the animal are unfulfilled ! Chicago 
is said to be the hell of horses, but ocular wit- 
nesses say that compared with St. Petersburg 
it is their paradise. 

The Russian peasant gives 
soft names to his horses, but 
often denies them food — per- 
haps because he has so little 
for himself. In the days of 
serfdom the peasants (with 
permission of their masters) 
came in crowds to the capital 
with their skeletons of horses, 
to let them for saddle or har- 
ness, and thus prolong their 
own miserable lives and those 
of their beasts. 

English grooms hold the 
first rank for the care they 
give to their animals. The 
bandaging of the legs, the 
rubbing of the muscles and 
tendons with stimulants and tonics, the partic- 
ular method of cleaning (during which the 
groom makes a curious hissing noise with his 
teeth and lips), the sponging of the backs, — 
all this is of English origin and has been 
adopted by the other nations of Europe and by 



treatment of the animal by the Anglo-Saxon 
races has done much to ameliorate his condi- 
tion all over the civilized world. 





America. In England the horse, especially the 
Thoroughbred, is idolized by young and old, 
by great and small ; this careful and intelligent 



Ch.ami'ion Double Team, "Sometimes" .and "Alw.avs"' 

Our readers have probably heard of Y. S. 
Rarey, a native of Ohio, who became celebrated 
about the year i860 by the gentleness with 
which he conquered restive and vicious horses. 
He went to England and made his first attempts 
at Tattersall's, the well-known establishment 
where the most important sales of horses 
and carriages were made. In a single day 
he was able to render tractable the most 
vicious and uncontrollable animals. He 
began with one which w-as terrible for its 
ferocity. In less than one day the animal 
followed him round the arena like a dog 
and did everything that he ordered. Lord 
Derby gave him a little Thoroughbred mare 
so savage as to be useless, and the same 
result was obtained. A white horse from 
the roval stables, which no one had been 
able to master, became soft as wax in 
Rare) 's hands. Rarey's fame being spread 
abroad, he was called on to give representa- 
tions of his method in the presence of the 
queen and other dignitaries. Two duchesses 
took lessons from him, for which instruction he 
asked ^20 each. Afterwards he went to France, 
where he displayed his art before the Emperor. 



152 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Lord Dorchester brought him a horse named 
Crusader, unruly from his birth and showing 
his viciousness every day and every moment. 
The animal seemed almost insane. He would 
fall upon his knees in a fit of fury and dig up 
the earth with his teeth, or he would fling him- 
self against the sides of the stall, kicking and 
screaming for a quarter of an hour at a time. 
Often he would let no one enter his stall ; his 
strength was so sfreat that once he broke an 



Derby begged Rarey not to expose his life any 
longer; but the American persisted and ob- 
tained the success we have stated. 

Rarey possessed, moreover, the necessary 
gifts of patience, calmness, courage, and self- 
possession, and his method was adapted, above 
all, to the animal's intelligence. He explained 
his principles in a little treatise written by him- 
self and published first in America and then in 
England, where three hundred thousand copies 




Horses Ready for Transport 



iron bar in two. In three hours Rarey calmed 
the animal so that he allowed him, and also the 
owner, to ride him, although no one until then 
had been able to mount him. During the three 
hours' training the vicious brute, with open 
mouth and savage cries, had twice flung him- 
self upon Rarey, who escaped by slipping 
through a half -opened door. Little by little the 
horse grew calmer and allowed himself to be 
fastened to a transversal log. This restraint, 
hitherto unknown to him, maddened him at 
first, and his fury was so violent that Lord 



were sold in three weeks. In it we see (as was 
evident at his exhibitions) that he employed no 
trick or artifice, but treated the horses naturally, 
being very careful never to startle or frighten 
or hurt them. 

Another horse breaker and trainer more or 
less famous was Baucher. He used various 
secret means ; he put into the horse's nostrils 
oil, which gave out a strong smell of burnt 
horfi ; he made the animal inhale the sweat 
under his arms, and he blew into his nose. 
Possibly Baucher had faith in these means, but 



THE HORSE 



153 



it is also v^ery likely that he employed 
them to throw dust into the eyes ot 
the spectators. For the rest, his treat- 
ment was very violent and aimed at 
breaking the animal's will and ilc- 
stroying all power of resistance. 

To subdue an unrul)- horse (whit h 
has often been made unruly by ill 
usage), as well as to train them at 
all times, inexhaustible patience and 
an immovable will are absoluteh 
necessary, anil the\' never fail to 
make the animal d<:) what is desired. 
Unfortunately not every man who has 
the care of horses will see or learn 
this truth. The horse, it should be re- 
membered, has certain distinguishing qualities. 





Co.MixG In 

Having been under the hand and guidance of 
man from generation to generation 
(far more than any other animal), he 
is by nature docile ; he also has 
a strong memory and is very sub- 
missive to the power of habit. 

X. Shoeing 
One of the most important point.s 
in the care of horses is their shoeing. 
Wild horses, it is true, can go with- 
out irons on their feet; but it is not 
so with our domestic animals, be- 
cause, in the first place, their hoofs 
are not so hard, and in the second 
place, because our stony roads are 



Cli;amn(, IliM 

evidently not so favorable to them as the 
grassy ground of the steppes and prairies. 

Shoeing must therefore be regarded as a 
necessary evil, for evil it is. By driving nails 
into the hoof holes are made through which dirt 
and disease may enter, while the hoof, which 
has a natural tendenc\' to disintegrate, becomes 
weaker and less resistant. In order to avoid 
this injury many methods have been invented 
to appl)' the iron shoes without having recourse 
to nails, but no satisfactory result has yet been 
attained, and we are still constrained to keep 
to the old -system. 

To lessen the shock of the hoof on a hard 
road and to protect the frog, various soft cov- 
erings have been used, the best known of 
which are India rubber, felt, tow, and cork. 




Bf.fokf. Critics 



154 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



The tow pad is much used in the German cities, that can be screwed on and off, the latter being 
It consists of an iron shoe with a hollow on the in the shape of the letter H, which prevents 
inside in which the tow is fixed, coming out them from being too rapidly blunted. 




At the Blacksmith'.s 



a little beyond the level of the shoe. It thus 
forms a soft layer, which lessens the shock and 
also prevents the horse from slipping on the 
asphalt pavements. 

One of the most important problems is the 
shoeing of horses in winter, when a shoe is 



Shoes have also been invented for special 
purposes, more particularly for race horses. 
To increase their speed more weight is put 
in various ways into certain parts of the shoe ; 
and in order to oblige the hind feet to be placed 
outwardly on the ground and thus be thrown 
beyond the fore feet, more weight is given to 
the external edge of the shoe. Special shoes 
have also been invented for all sorts of diseases 
of the legs and hoofs. To correct hoofs that 
grow too narrow at the back (feet with pinched 
heels), there are many kinds of shoeing ; one, for 
instance, makes the shoe in the shape of a half- 
moon, leaving the rear half of the hoof unshod. 

.Siiui;iN(, iiiK Mules XI. The Usefulness of Horses 

needed that shall not slip on ice or snow. Before taking leave of this noble quadruped 

Nails with pointed heads may be employed, or we ought to mention the practical utility of 
shoes sharpened at the points, or pointed bars his body to man. Mare's milk, in the first 





Shoes with Soft Cushions of Tow, Cork, Felt, and Gutta-pekcha 




SlAlil.KS OF A Rll)IN<, 



156 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




place, has long been, and 
drink, and from it several 
as koumiss, are made, which 
tonic properties. If we take 
a map and mark the fron- 
tiers within which mare's 
milk, goat's milk, camel's 
milk, and cow's milk are 
drunk, we shall find that 
the territory of the con- 
sumers of mare's milk is 
much the largest. 

To peoples living in a 
state of nature the horse's 
skin has always been very 
useful for the making; of 



garments, tents, and straps. 
In southern Russia the shep- 
herds clothe themselves with 
the skins of wild ponies. Cer- 
tain of the Tartar tribes wear 
nothing but horse skins so put 
on that the mane floats grace- 
fully down their backs. But 
we need not look so far away. 
Many of our own gloves and 
shoes of "Russia leather," 
with their brilliancy and their 
perfume, were cut out of 
horses' hides. 

Horse grease, or rather tal- 
low, is used in great quantities 
for lighting purposes in Uru- 
guay, where thirty thousand 
is still, a favorite horses are killed yearly to furnish the supply, 
preparations, such Chinese ladies always keep a box of horse 
are noted for their grease on their toilet tables, to use for their hair 

in place of bear's grease. 

The bones of horses 
serve, like those of many 
other animals, to make 
soap. Thus the horse, so 
useful during his lifetime, 
does not cease to be so, in 
other ways, after death. 
The noble animal, favorite 
and companion of our great 
historic heroes, the helper 
and support of the laborer, 
A Straw Bath the link of so many of our 



Interior of a Riding School Stable 





Cow Ponies ox a Nluk.vska Ranch 



THE HORSE 



157 



social relations, is, it is true, esteemed almost 
everywhere at his true worth as a domestic 
animal ; and \et he still comes too often in 
contact with that instrument of temper and 
tyranny, the '.chip. It is remarkable that in 
lands where the horse lives nearest to his 
master, in close companionship and hourly 
service, the use of whip and spur, sometimes 



of bit and saddle, is unknown. The nearer we 
come to civilized nations the more we find a 
change. It is in the centers of civilization, in 
the great cities of Europe and America, that 
we see drivers of drays and cabs lashing their 
wear\', worn-out, or overloaded horses. Tliis 
ilomcstic animal, at least, deserves better 
treatment. 



IV 

THE ASS AND THE MULE 



The ass is closely related to the horse, as it 
is easy to see by comparing their skeletons, 
between which there is no essential difference. 
Their dental system is also precisely the same. 
Between the living animals, as they appear to 
our eyes, the differences are very perceptible, 




The Wild Ass 

although they can scarcely be very deep in 
view of the fact that fruitful mating is possible 
between horse and ass. 

The most salient differences are in the size 
of the body, the length of the ears, the hairs 
of the tail and mane, the situation of the 
horny excrescences on the fore and hind legs 
(probably the rudimentary remains of sabots, 
with which they may have some relation, the 
ancestors of the equine race not having always 
been solipedous), and finally the voice. 



Asses are generally much smaller than horses. 
The head is heavy, the lips thick, the ears long, 
the tail, which is usually not covered with long 
hair, has a tuft at the end like that of cattle ; 
the hair of the body has a more or less marked 
tendency to be striped, and the bray is easily 

distinguished from the neigh of 

the horse. 

I. The Wild Ass 
The wild ass must be re- 
garded as the ancestor of the 
domestic ass of Europe. He 
inhabits, in great droves, cen- 
tral Asia, Tartary, Afghanistan, 
Baluchistan, Bokhara, Persia, 
Arabia, Syria, Phrygia, and the 
deserts of northern Africa and 
Barbary. These animals live in 
herds, each under the lead of 
a male ass, which migrate north 
and east of Lake Aral in sum- 
mer, bvit never beyond 48° 
north latitude, while in winter 
they come down by hundreds 
and thousands into Persia and 
sometimes Ss far as the East 
Indies. 

The ass is recorded as being 
in those countries in very 
ancient times, as we learn from 
the oldest books in the Bible. He is cited by 
Job for his love of freedom : " Who hath sent 
out the wild ass free .? or who hath loosed the 
bands of the wild ass .■' Whose house I have 
made the wilderness, and the barren land his 
dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the 
city, neither regardeth he the crying of the 
driver. The range of the mountains is his pas- 
ture, and he searcheth after every green thing." 
That description exactly characterizes the 
wild ass. He inhabits by preference regions 



158 




From a water color by 11. J. van der Woele 



THE ASS AND THE MULE 



159 



where certain bitter herbs grow, — the moun- 
tain spinach, the goosefoot, the jjlantain, the 
dandelion, the thistle, and the witch grass. 
He drinks salt water as well as fresh, ami will 
drink that of the Caspian Sea, but he will not 
drink muddy water. This proud inhabitant of 
the steppes is taller than his domestic descend- 
ant ; he is active, solidly built, and fears no 
fatigue. His color is silvery gray, or yellowish 
gray, with a coffee-colored line down his back 
edged with white, often crossed on the croup 
by one and sometimes two transversal lines. 



The young asses, which are fed on rice, oats, 
and bread, become very strong and beautiful 
animals, and are sold to the Persian merchants 
at high prices. It is very difficult to get a 
shot at these asses ; they are gifted with keen 
eyes and very quick ears. 

The Mongol ass is another type of the wild 
ass, differing little from the preceding animal. 
The Tartars and Mongols call him Long Ears 
in their language, and on account of his great 
swiftness the Tibetans dedicate him solemnly 
as a riding steed to their gods of war and fire. 




SlCILI.\N DOXKEV^ 



His mane, several inches long, is dark brown, 
soft, and woolly, like that of young colts, but 
his tail has only a tuft. His winter coat is long 
and fleecy, like that of a camel ; in summer it 
is soft and silky, being silvery white on the 
belly. The legs are sometimes marked with 
transversal brown lines. 

The Kirghiz, Tartars, and Persians hunt 
this animal and eat his flesh. Taken young, 
he is easily and frec|uently tamed. They are 
taken alive in ditches lined with grass and care- 
fully covered, into which horsemen drive them. 



n. The Zf.br.a 
In shape the zebra resembles the wild ass, 
except that his rounded hind (.|uartcrs seem to 
indicate a relationship with the horse. The 
fundamental color of his coat is white, the 
head is almost wholly while, also the lining of 
the ears, but the nose is a fine brown, and the 
tip of the tail black. Elsewhere the body of 
this beautiful animal is striped with dark bands. 
He lives in herds in the mountainous and sandy 
regions of South Africa and southern Abyssinia. 
He is never found above 10° north latitude. 



i6o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Though he cannot deny his asinine nature, 
thanks to his obstinacy, tenacity, and occasional 
malignity, kind treatment has succeeded more 
than once in subduing him, and also in training 




"Orphan Bo\," Grand Champion J^ck, 
World's Fair 

him both for riding and for harness. But this 
wild and self-willed mountaineer will always 
show temper if teased, a thing he cannot pos- 
sibly endure. 

The quagga is another species of striped ass, 
which bears still more resemblance to the horse. 
Its fundamental color is yellowish brown striped 
with fewer bands than the zebra, and these 
disappear on the back and on the croup. The 
stomach and inside of the legs are chiefly white. 
These animals formerly lived in herds, in com- 
pany with ostriches, who were quicker than 
they in finding food and perceiving danger. 
At the present time the quagga may be said 
to have disappeared, — to have succumbed in 
the struggle for existence against the growing 
population of South Africa and the mania of 
the Englishman for hunting " big game." 

The Hottentots gave him the name of 
quagga on account of his cry (quag-ga, quag-ga), 
which differs as much from the neighing of a 
horse as it does from the braying of an ass. 

III. The Domestic Ass 

The degenerate descendant of the proud 

denizens of the steppes, the mountains, and the 

deserts is the tame donkey of the north and 

center of Europe, the drudge among domestic 



animals, at whom every one thinks he has a 
right to jibe, granting him in return a few 
thistles and food that all other animals would 
disdain. One reason why he is so obstinate, 
provoking, and phlegmatic in this part of the 
world, and consequently so despised, is that he 
suffers from our cold, damp climate. He is 
more at his ease and therefore less aggravating 
and less despised in warm, dry regions. He is 
indispensable and is therefore valued through- 
out the south of Europe, northern Africa, Egypt 
especially, and Asia Minor. In all the countries 
clustering round the Mediterranean he shows 
his good qualities and men make much of him. 
In China and Persia a fine race of asses is 
raised exclusively for riding. They are ridden 
by the rich magnates on saddles embossed 
with silver ; priests have the dignity and privi- 
lege of riding white asses. The saddle is put 
very far back, nearer to the croup than to the 
withers. Bokhara is so rich in donkeys that 
the streets are sometimes blocked by them. 




A Trained Zebra 

They are of all colors, — white, black, brown, 
tawny, blue-gray, etc. 

In northern Africa the tamed ass is in gen- 
eral use as far down as the frontiers of the 
Soudan. Egypt, especially, has robust, hand- 
some, well-made animals, with keen eyes and 



THE ASS AND THE MULE 



i6i 



an easy gait, the latter trait making them much 
in demand for riding, particularly for ladies. 
They are also very suitable for pilgrimages 
through the desert, such as the Mohammedan 
pilgrims make to Mecca. The handsomest ani- 
mals are found chiefly in Upper Egypt and in 
Nubia, where they cost more than horses. 

Formerly there were such hordes of wild 
asses in the Cape Verde and Canary Islands 
that they had to be exterminated by hunting. 
In South America they are equally numerous, 
especially in Patagonia. Sardinia has an im- 
mense number of very small donkeys, employed 
chiefly in grinding corn and in drawing water. 
The "asses mill," viola asinana, was in use in 



for consumptives. It contains a great quan- 
tity of sugar. Parmesan cheese is made of it. 
The flesh of very young asses is eaten in Italy 
and in Spain, where it is thought tender and 
delicious ; that of the older animals is tough. 
The skin of an ass is made into parchment, 
vellum, and shagreen, and is thus very valuable. 

IV. The Mule 
The breeding of these animals is carried on 
to a great extent in the south of Europe, in 
America, and in Asia. The custom was early 
known ; it was forbidden among the Israelites 
b\' the laws of Moses, but in David's time 
they were ccrtainl)- cnipl(i\iiig mules, probably 




On the Be.^ch 



southern Italy in very ancient times. In Sicily 
asses are very numerous ; they are generally 
small in size and blue-gray in color, with longi- 
tudinal and transversal stripes on the back. 

Asses were first introduced into England 
in the days of Ethelred, the Saxon king, and 
again under the reign of Henry III. The 
English adopted the barbarous custom of 
cropping their ears, with the idea that it made 
them more good-natured, more wide-awake, 
and more obedient, the popular notion being 
that the animals were stupefied by receiving 
too much sound. 

Asses have other uses than for riding or for 
draft purposes. Ass's milk has always been 
considered extremely wholesome and beneficial 
(though formerly more so than to-day), especially 



imported. The Greeks and Romans raised 
them, and they were even used in the Olympic 
games. 

This mongrel product is a tall, strong animal 
corresponding to the horse in height and in 
the shape of the neck, shoulders, and body, 
while the form of his head, his long ears, his 
tufted tail, and his thin, wirv legs and narrow 
hoofs are an inheritante from his father, the 
ass. His voice also has something of the 
paternal bray, but his coat resembles that of 
the horse. In common with the ass he has 
vigor and little tendcnc\- to disease ; e\en 
when thirty years old he often shows no signs 
of age. He is trained when about two and a 
half or three years old, and at five he can bo 
used for the heaviest labor. These useful 




A Pair of Young Mules 




White Donkeys 



THE ASS AND THE MULE 



163 



animals are indispensable in mountainous coun- 
tries for the transportation of merchandise. 
Their footing is firm and sure, and they can 
carry a load of five hundred pounds for weeks 
over trackless regions. They are also excel- 
lent riding animals and are still much used for 
private carriages in many of the southern coun- 
tries of Europe ; they are also used for artillery 
wagons. In America the mule is indispensable 
in the sugar and cotton fields of the South. 

The production of mules is constant in Spain. 
The government has endeavored to put a stop 
to it, in favor of raising horses, but without 



or zebroiils. Later several mares were mated 
willi the same zebra stallion and many foals 
were obtained, the chief among them ix'in"" 




appreciable results. Ciudad Real was formerly 
the great market place for mules, ten thousand 
being often for sale there, bringing high prices. 
At three years of age they are usually worth 
from eight hundred to nine hundred francs 
(!Si6o to ^180). The finest and handsomest 
bring from twelve hundred to eighteen hundred 
francs (^240 to $360). Mules are usually sterile, 
though they have been known to have offspring, 
but the latter have no vitality and die young. 

V. The Zebrule, or Zebroid 
Lately a Scotch naturalist, J. C. Ewarts, 
who has made himself a name in this domain, 
mated a zebra stallion, named Matopes, with a 
mare from one of the Scotch islands. The 
product was a foal which received the name 
of Romulus, the new race being called zebrules, 




Sir John, a colt, and the fillies Bunda and 
Black Agnes, which were both sold to Ham- 
burg ; the English government then bought 
them and sent them to India, where they were 
trained for service in a mountain battery. In 
shape the zebroids are a cross between the 




" RoMUi-US," A Cklebr.vtkd Zkhhi'i.k 

horse and the zebra. Romulus, born in 1896, 
derived from his father onl)" very inilistinct 
stripes, while Sir John has them more clearly 
defined. These zebroids are strong, manage- 
able, and easy to train both for saddle and 
harness ; it is hoped that they have inherited 
the zebra's immunity from equine diseases. 



V 

THE SHEEP 



I. General Considerations and Qualities 
Common to the Species 

One of the most ancient, if not the most 
ancient, of domestic animals is the sheep. It 
is the first mentioned in the Bible. Abel was 
a shepherd, which proves that the earliest 
known men followed that calling side by side 



master bade him, and been protected as much 
as possible against all dangers, he has become 
stupid and dreamy ; his senses have lost their 
acuteness. The vigilance and perspicacity 
shown by certain wild sheep still existing have 
given place, in the domestic animal, to a meek- 
ness and docility that are now proverbial. 




A Dutch Sheep Farm 



with tillage of the soil. In the beginning this 
animal certainly could not have been found in 
a tame state; consequently our present wool 
and mutton sheep must have come from a wild 
ancestry. But all that is lost in the night of 
time. He has now become, in his domestic 
state, so entirely dependent on man that he 
could not exist without him. Having always 
yielded to his master's will, gone where that 



Sheep are very easily acclimated, so that 
we find them in the coldest climates, and also 
in the hottest. They bear the cold of Siberia, 
Kamchatka, and our western plains as well as 
the heat of Senegal, the Indies, and Australia, 
which, however, does not prevent them from 
preferring a temperate climate and thriving in 
it. They can bear a dry cold better than much 
humidity. 



164 




l-'iom .1 paiiuing liy K. I', ter Meulen 



THE SHEEP 



i6: 



As for food, they prefer the short, 
fine grasses, nourishing and aromaiic, 
which grow on dry, calcareous moun- 
tain slopes and rolling hillsides, not, 
however, disdaining those that grow 
in saline places, for they love salt, 
like the goat, the deer, the ass, and 
the horse. All sheep, but especially 
young lambs, like to climb the accliv- 
ities that they see about them. Their 
skill in this direction they have doubt- 
less derived from their ancestors, the 
wild mountain sheep. They have 
never had, however, the agilit\' of 
goats, which are native born to moun- 
tains and rocks. 

The sheep is so closely related to 
the goat that there is very little dif- 
ference in the skeletons of the two 
species, and what there is lies chiefly in the 
hollow profile of the face of the goat and the 
rounded profile of the sheep. In other respects, 
the sheep is unlike the goat in temperament, 
in character, in coat, in the shape of its horns, 
and in its peculiar odor, which differs in all 





.\ Moll I.ON Ra.m 



animals. The docility and stupidity of the sheep 
are as unlike the savage temper, vivacity, and 
obstinacy of the goat as its crinkled wool is 
unlike the latter's waving hair. 

II. Origin 

There are different opinions regarding 
the origin of the sheep, some naturalists 
gi\'ing them for ancestor the mouflon of 
Armenia and Persia, others the argali of 
Siberia and central Asia, while some again 
discover their forerunners in the Oural 
sheep of the Himalayas, in the Buhel or 
blue sheep of the plains of central Asia, 
or in the bighorns of Kamchatka and Alaska 
and the Rocky Mountains of America. 

The argalis are the largest of all wild 
sheep, attaining sometimes to a height of 
three and a half feet. They inhabit the 
rocky slopes of southern Siberia and north- 
ern Mongolia and have much in common 
with the bighorn. A smaller species in- 
habits the plateau of Tibet, descending to 
the ]ilains in winter. Ver\- large and heavy 
argalis arc found on the plateau of Pamir, 
over eighteen hundred feet above sea level. 

The mouflon lives in the mountains of 
Persia and Armenia and on the islands 
of C\]Mus, Sardinia, and Corsica; formerly 



1 66 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



he existed in Spain, and, according to Pliny, in 
the vicinity of Mentone. Mouflons live in herds, 
each uiider the control of a ram. In the mating 
season fierce fights take place in which they kill 




A CoTSwoLD Ram 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

each other. By nature they are timid and flee 
at the slightest noise, which they hear at a very 
great distance. They spring among the most 
inaccessible rocks with extraordinary lightness 
and agility, and allow no precipice to arrest 
their flight until they feel themselves absolutely 
out of danger. The rams have huge almost cir- 
cular horns ; the ewes have none. Their hair 
is very smooth, short, and reddish brown in 
color, but in winter it is mixed with wool. 

The mating of the European mouflons with 
ewes presents no difficulty. Breeders have 
always obtained fruitful descendants, which 
seems to prove indubitably that the mouflon 
is the true ancestor of our domestic sheep. 

III. The Domestic Sheep 

The difference between the domestic sheep 
and the wild sheep is not more pronounced 
than that between the sheep and the goat. 
Many are the varieties scattered over the globe. 
For instance, the Somali breed of Africa is a 
race of white sheep with very large black heads, 



pendent ears, and a thick fat tail ; they give no 
wool fit to weave. 

The fat-tailed sJiccp is a singular freak of 
nature in the enormous development of its tail. 
It is found in Egypt and throughout 
Africa, also in Syria and Arabia. It 
has hanging ears, a very stupid air, 
and is sometimes without horns. Its 
coat is halfway between fur and wool ; 
on the neck and breast it has long 
hair like the manes found on wild 
sheep. The color is a dirty white. 
Its tail reaches to the ground and is 
of enormous size, especially in the 
African breeds. The fat and also 
the flesh of these animals are con- 
sidered dainties. 

The fat-JiaiincIicd sheep resemble 

the preceding with this difference, 

that the accumulation of fat is on the 

haunches and spreads only partially 

to the tail. This variety is met with 

•in Persia, Tartary, and in parts of 

Africa. 

The Wallachian slieep inhabits the southeast 

of Europe and the west of Asia. It is found 

especially in Wallachia, Greece, and the island 

of Crete. It has a fine shape, and the coat, a 

mixture of hair and soft down, is thick and very 




PERSI.4N Fat-Tailed Sheep 
AND Lamb 



Ram, Ewe, 



long. This animal makes a beautiful transition 
between goats with long hair and sheep with 
wool. The head and lower legs are very dark, 
the former being adorned with magnificent 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



spiral horns which lean to one side in the sheep 
of Wallachia and stand erect in those of Crete. 
These animals bear weather of all kinds, being 
kept on the mountains in summer and brought 




PhotoJ.T. Ne' 



in, Berkhanipstead 



down to the plains in winter. Besides milk and 
meat, each animal can supply from four to six 
pounds of wool, which is much in demand for 
the manufacture of stockings and other coarse 
woolen articles. 

The silver-liaircd sheep is found in the south 
of Africa. Blankets are made of its wool. 
None of these sheep have been 
brought to our count r 
except as curiosities ; 
for agricultural pur 
poses they could 
not compete with 
our present im 
proved breeds. 



IV. 



Moorland 
Sheep 



The sheep of the moors 
of northern Europe have long 
coats of mixed wool and hair. They 
are coarser and more cowardly than 
those of Wallachia. Their wool is used only 



the heath or moors of northern Germany, Den- 
mark, Russia, the Low Countries, and parts of 
England. It is not at all exacting, and lives 
principally on the gorse and heather produced 
by those arid regions. The 
laborers raise these sheep for 
their coarse wool, and for 
manure with which to fertilize 
their barren and stony soil. 
The flesh is considered very 
savory and recalls the taste of 
venison ; it contains little fat 
and has a peculiar gamy flavor, 
impossible to define, which is 
possessed by the flesh of no 
other sheep. 

This moorland animal re- 
calls in his exterior the wild 
sheep, his ancestors. The 
ram's horns resemble those of 
the argali, but the spirals are 
smaller and oftener repeated, 
the head is finely formed, the 
eye alert and intelligent, the legs very slender 
and well made. The color of the coat, the hair 
of which is short about the head and legs, is 
brownish black, brown, reddish brown, tawny, 
spotted or speckled, or white. All moorland 
sheep, however, do not correspond to the type 
above described. Some have no horns, and 
others have the nose strongly 
curved ; they are mostly 
small and active. The 
tail is usually very 
long. 
Though these 
sheep are by nature 
wild and shy and 
prefer a free life on 
the moors, they soon 
accustom themselves 
to domestic surroundings 
and will return every evening 

faithfully of their own accord. It is 

A Wallachian Ram ■ ^ ^- ^ ^ i, ^.-u -u u-i c 

instructive to watch the habits ot 

these interestine: animals ; let us choose as a 




for the commonest stockings and other equally 
coarse woolen textures. This sheep inhabits 



type the moorland sheep of the province of 
Drent in the Low Countries. 



THK SHEEP 



169 



In this province sheep are kept in flocks, 
varying in number from a himdred to a thou- 
sand. In the peat districts there are flocks of 
sometimes not more than twenty, which are 



the shepherd, who, as they reach the open 
country, points out to his dog the direction he 
wishes taken. When the pasture is reached the 
flock disperses among the gorse and heather, 




WvoMiNt; Shei'hkki) and his Outfit 



watched by a boy. The great flocks are in 
charge of a shepherd assisted by his dog, and 
by a helper if the sheep are very numerous. 
Usually a large flock belongs to different own- 
ers living in the same village and having a 
common right of pasture on the moorland. 

In the morning, when the time comes to lead 
the flock to the fields, the shepherd blows his 



and the shepherd sits down (still watching his 
sheep) to his daily avocation, which consists in 
knitting coarse woolen socks. Besides his knit- 
ting, the shepherd carries a long crook with a 
tiny scoop at the end, with which he flings little 
pellets of earth at the sheep that may chance to 
stray from the main body, in order to recall them. 
The shepherd has also a fine horn box adorned 




.SiiKi'.i' R.wciUNc; Scr.Ni: in Albi.kta, Canada 



horn, the owners open the doors of their sheep- 
cots, and the different little flocks rush out 
and form themselves into a great flock, cross- 
ing the village slowl\- under the guidance of 



with brass nails and filled with an ointment for 
the scab, a disease that attacks the moorland 
sheep sooner than others. This bo.\ hangs at 
his waist. \\'hen the shepherd knits he sticks 



1 7© 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Very Fine Cheviot Ram 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

the ends of his knitting needles into his waist- 
band, like an old Englishwoman. The shep- 
herd's costume admits of all imaginable variety, 
but is never in the latest fashion. Over his or- 
dinary clothes he invariably wears a cloak in case 
of rain, though some, more effeminate, carry an 
umbrella slung obliquely across their backs. 

Nearly all the sheep have 
bells or rattles fastened around 
their necks by a leather strap. 
The monotonous tinkling of 
these bells produces, especially 
at starting and in returning, a 
very pleasant sound, percepti- 
ble at great distances over the 
moor, so that one often hears 
them when no sheep are in the 
neighborhood. 

The dog may belong to all 
possible breeds except — I was 
about to say — the shepherd 
dog, but that may be going too 
far. It is usually some mongrel 
of medium size ; sometimes, 
though rarely, it has more or 
less the type of the shepherd 
dog. These animals are usually 
wide-awake, docile, and inde- 
fatigable. They understand 



every sign of their master, and 
at times they seem to know 
by intuition when a sheep is 
wandering from the right way. 
They can be troublesome, 
however, by their occasional 
rough treatment of the ewes. 
Sometimes they will bite them 
so sharply on the legs that it 
causes the poor creatures to 
bleed, and they rush away on 
three feet. To avoid this some 
shepherds muzzle their dogs. 
In the evening when the 
flock returns slowly to the vil- 
lage, its coming is announced 
not only by the distant tink- 
ling of the bells, but also by 
the clouds of dust seen from 
afar, which it scuffles up. When it reaches the 
village it is really amazing to see the various por- 
tions of the large flock detach themselves and 
make for their own sheepcots without a word or 
sign from the shepherd. Every sheep knows its 
own home unless it is newly bought. When all 
are housed the shepherd's daily work is ended. 




Oxford Down Ram 

Photo J. T. Newman, Beikharepstead 




^;>- -^^^^ ■ ^^■m^^V^W^i'i, ai><v>ni«wi»ra5gr^to«>»^:iife%^<iPr:^ --- 



A MoKMNd W \1 K 
I'lu.to r,. Jockniann, I'trccht 



172 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Besides watching his sheep in the open 
country, the shepherd has to contend con- 
tinually against the scab and other ailments, 
filling as he does the triple office of mid- 
wife, physician, and surgeon. The recipe of 
his particular ointment for the scab is often a 
family secret handed down from father to son. 
He applies it at fixed times and in a certain 
wajr. He parts the wool from the neck to the 



The shepherd is also the meteorologist of 
the village, and sometimes its seer ; in fact, he 
practices various sciences that border on the 
miraculous. For these many services he re- 
ceives a trifling salary, which is usually paid 
"in kind." For instance, he may pasture a 
certain number of his own sheep ; or he may 
keep the whole flock for a certain number 
of nights on his own arable land in order to 




A Trio of Oxford Down Champions on Exhibition 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



tail and rubs his ointment down the narrow 
line of skin thus exposed. Then he makes 
another part across and down each shoulder, 
so that the ointment is applied to the skin in 
the form of a cross. Constant application of 
the remedy by this method sufifices to keep the 
disease within certain limits. The_ shepherd 
will not listen to talk of a complete cure, simply 
because he does not believe it possible. This 
is one of the numerous examples which prove 
with what strength some ideas are anchored in 
the minds of such persons. 



manure it ; or he may take part of his meals with 
the various owners of the flock in turn, those 
who own many sheep feeding him for a greater 
number of days than those who have few. His 
food is composed chiefly of extremely thick 
and very greasy pancakes. Another part of his 
salary comes from an obligation on the part of 
those peasants of the village who own horses, 
thgy agreeing to till his field and gather his 
fruit. Lastly, he receives a little peat, some 
rye, and some other comestibles, together with 
a very little money. 



THE SHEEP 



173 



The shearing; of the sheep is done by the 
owners themselves assisted by their servants. 
That of the whole district takes place, if pos- 
sible, simultaneously, so that as little 
time as possible is taken. It is done 
with such awkwardness that the 
sheep are sometimes half skinned 
by inexperienced shearers. The poor 
creatures then have a most repulsive 
appearance, in consequence of the 
lack of cleanliness in the inhabitants 
of those regions, ne\'er more clearly 
revealed than during the shearing 
operation. The manipulation of the 
wool is also filthy. Part is sold, and 
another part is sent to the small spin- 
ning mills, whence the owner receives 
it back in the form of worsted for 
knitting, woolen aprons, or stuffs to 
be made into coarse woolen garments. 
A small part of the fleece is kept b)- 
the owners ; it is washed and hung 
on trees or hedges to dry and bleach. 
Then the mother brings out an 
ancient spinning wheel and spins her 
own yarn. This is the ordinary worsted with 
which the shepherd knits his socks. 

Before the shearing the sheep are washed, 
the washing being done in common by the 
owners and their servants, assisted by all the vil- 
lage youth. The young men stand in the water 



and pass the sheep from hand to hand, which 
causes the animals to receive a mud bath, the 
benefit of which is very problematical. This 





SlIKnl'SllIRI. R.WIS 
I'l.ctu J. T. Xewm.ui, llriklLUu|istfMl 



Hampmiiki: Diiwn Ram 
Plioto J. T. Newman, lierkhanipstead 

" washing day " is kept as a fete day, on which 
the inhabitants take baths that are not merely 
external. 

The manure of the sheep is left for a whole 
year to pile up in the sheepcots, where it 
forms the litter of the animals. It is only 
taken out once a \'ear, in the 
spring. As the moorland 
sheep are especially useful for 
their manure, the territory 
they occupy is slowly but 
surely diminishing, since a 
more intelligent system of 
farming is developing, and 
artificial fertilizers are found 
to work as well as sheep 
manure. 

V. EXCI.ISH SniCF.P FOR 
BUTCHEKINC 

English shee]) are in direct 
opposition to moorland sheep 
in their chief c|ualities, 



174 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A Rare Species of the Shropshire Breed 
Photo J. T. Newman, Bevkhampstea d 

although, like them, they inhabit the plains and 
hillsides of a great part of Europe and America. 
There is a great difference, however, in the 
character of those plains ; the moorland sheep 



live on sandy soil, while the 
English-bred sheep are the 
product of a rich, loamy, 
calcareous land. England is 
especially fitted for the forma- 
tion of such a race, partly by 
reason of its soft and temper- 
ate climate, and partly because 
of its many beautiful and fer- 
tile meadows and the rolling 
"downs" of the south and 
east ; and also, and above all, 
by reason of the practical good 
sense that characterizes the 
Englishman in general and the 
English breeder in particular. 
The history of these sheep 
does not date back very far. 
It was not until the second 
half of the eighteenth century 
that their excellent qualities came to be gener- 
ally known, thanks to a breeder named Bake- 
well, who died in 1799. Bakewell lived in 
Leicestershire, where the soil and climate had 




The Shower Bath 



THE SHEEP 



175 




SlIKlCr liATHS 



long produced a stout sheep suitable for butcher- 
ing. A neighboring breed, the Herefordshire, 
was also stoutly and heavily made, with a large 
head and strong, bony structure ; but it was 
chiefly valued for its wool, which was of excel- 
lent quality. Now the stomach of London de- 
manded meat, more meat, always meat. The 
Englishman is beyond dispute the greatest 
meat eater in the civilized world, while at the 
same time he is a da'miy j^o/inm-t. To do him 
justice, he never hesitates to pay the price 
of his meat, which is naturally an encourage- 
ment to the breeder. Bakewell saw his op- 
portunity and was ecjual to the task. He 
created the new Leicester breed (sometimes 
called the Dishley) from mating the old 
Leicestershire race with the Herefordshire, 
Lincoln, and Teeswater races. 

The Teeswater sheep is the jsroduct of 
very rich pastures lying along the two banks 
of the river Tees. For a long time it was 
one of the best known s])ecies. At two years 



of age the animal often supplied two hundred 
pounds of butcher's meat. Towards Christmas 
of the year 1797 a ram of this race was slaugh- 
tered at Darlington-on-Tees, the four quarters 
of which weighed two hundred and fort\'-nine 
pounds, with seventeen additional pounds of fat. 




R.\M or Oi.i) Li:iri;sTi:u Brekd 



176 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



This race is also very fruitful, the ewes giving 
birth to two and sometimes three lambs annually. 
In this, however, it yielded to Bakewell's new 
breed, which it had materially assisted to form. 




Ready to Start for the Paris Exhibition 

The tuft on shoulder shows length of wool 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



The old Lincolnshire race was very coarse, 
very bony, very sluggish, and was not fit to 
kill until it was three years old, by which time 
its meat was tough and not succulent, — little 
to the taste of the English gourmet. 

Bakewell's new Leicester breed, which 
is the product of very careful selection and 
mating, has by degrees superseded the fore- 
going. He and other well-known British 
breeders have not hesitated to propagate 
among animals of the same family when 
they thought it wise to do so. They started 
with the true idea that in the hands of skill- 
ful breeders, animals are as malleable as 
dough. They believed that by laying down 
fixed rules to a fixed end, and by regulating 
food and regimen efficaciously, they could 
transform breeds, especially those of sheep, 
as they pleased. 

To obtain rapidly a relatively large num- 
ber of animals having the same qualities (to 
serve as the basis of greater numbers still), prop- 
agation between members of the same family is 



a sure and invaluable means, provided it is done 
with perfectly healthy animals possessing great 
vitality. This was the case with the solid and 
bony sheep that Bakewell made use of. Prop- 
agation between members of 
the same family, if pushed too 
far, has its evil side in too great 
refining, leading to deteriora- 
tion, — a rock on which the 
new Leicester breed has split, 
more or less, for its reputa- 
tion is not as widely extended 
now as it was a century ago. 
Bakewell's breed, produced 
as we have stated, was all 
pure white in body, head, and 
legs, and was without horns. 
Its head was long and slim, 
the neck short, enlarging 
conically toward the base, 
chest broad, shoulders and 
sides plump, back flat, loins 
broad, and the bones very 
small and delicate. Fattening 
these sheep gave them an al- 
most conical shape, the base of the cone being 
at the breast and the truncated point at the 
hind parts. The skin was very delicate, the tail 
small, and the wool moderately long, but always 




A Leicester Ram 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



inferior in quality to that of the old Hereford- 
shire breed. But for butcher's meat this new 



THE SHEEP 



177 



Leicester breed carried tJTe day. Comparing 
a loin of it with that of a coarse Norfolk sheep, 
we found the latter nearly twice as fat and 



u 




A Suffolk Raim 



heavy, while the former was covered with three 
times the amount of meat, — a matter to which 
the lover of mutton chops is not indifferent. 
Marshall, who wrote upon this subject at the 
close of the eighteenth centur\-, 
speaks of sheep which were so fat, 
when two years and a half old, 
that they could scarcely walk. At 
Litchfield he saw a fore quarter 
with four inches of fat on the loins, 
and later he saw some with five and 
six inches of fat. 

This e.xcessive fattening acts upon 
the flesh, which becomes impreg- 
nated with it, while the sinewy tis- 
sue diminishes. Thus a piece of the 
loin with the kidney, weighing, 
Marshall says, twenty-six pounds, 
had only two and a half pounds of 
meat. One must have the English 
taste, or else acquire it, to think such 
meat good ; but it is certain that 
mutton cannot be too fat for an 
Englishman. To a man of small 
means mutton fat, which can take the place of 
lard, has its advantages. 

Bakewell's success soon became generally 
known in England, and he cleverly made the 



most of his fame. He iiad numerous applica- 
tions for information and assistance ; and in 
October of every year a general sale was held 
at Leicester, to which breeders came from 
far and near to buy rams or to hire them. 
The chief breeders raised annually from 
twenty to forty young rams, which they 
leased to the small breeders at a price de- 
termined by the genealogy and pure blood 
of the animals. Nothing was spared for the 
proper bringing up and well-being of these 
sheep. In winter they were well housed 
and plentifully supplied with oats, cabbage, 
and turnips, and in the spring the first 
clover was theirs. 

After a time the too great refining away 
of the Leicester race injured its reputation, 
and breeders began to cross it with the 
coarser and stronger Lincolnshire breed. 
Thence has come the present Lincoln 
breed, which resembles the Leicester in all its 
good qualities, but has a stronger bone struc- 
ture, is more robust, and is better able to resist 
the influences of weather. The race has many 




A I.iNxoi.N Ram 

Photo J. T. Newman. HerklKinipstead 

subvarieties, which are all, in general, strong 
and well formed, bearing long fleeces of good 
quality. Sometimes a band of the fleece is left 
on the animal's shoulder when sheared, to show 



178 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



the natural length of the wool. Rams of this 
Lincoln race are sometimes sold in England for 
as much as five thousand dollars, but never as 
yet have they reached that price in this country. 

The Cotswold breed, originating in the moun- 
tainous regions of that name, resembles in many 
ways the two preceding races, but it is not so 
stout and its legs are longer, giving it a more 
active and lively appearance. It is also distin- 
guished by the handsome tuft on its forehead. 

The Long-wool Devon breed is also a part 
of this group ; it is heavy, with long legs, and 



Leicester, Lincoln, and Cotswold breeds have 
been imported to the United States for a great 
many years, and now we have many prosperous 
flocks scattered throughout the country. They 
are bred for both wool and mutton, although 
the latter quality is paramount. 

These breeds require abundant pasture, else 
the best results will not be obtained, since the 
animals are large and heavy eaters. It is owing 
to this fact more than to all others that these 
breeds have not gained any extended popu- 
larity with us. The Merino and Down breeds. 







• 




■'^^-u."' ". ■' V' ■"";■■■ -.. .'.• • *■ " ■■■■"1 '.'.■■ . .«-• ■ 





A Family of Exmoor Sheep 



produces much meat and fat, besides, as its 
name implies, a good supply of wool. 

The Kent, or Romney Marsh, sheep is a 
product of the plains of Kent, and by its con- 
formation and habits shows marked traces of 
the region in which it lives. It likes good liv- 
ing, but its bald head and stupid, good-natured 
air convey an impression that is not altogether 
favorable. This breed has not been favorably 
received by American breeders, although at 
one time it was valued very highly in England. 

In Ireland they raise sheep of this same 
group, with white heads, long wool, and no 
horns. Those named the Roscommon breed 
testify to the judgment of Irish breeders. 



requiring less food and at the same time carry- 
ing good profits, have the first hold on American 
breeders and feeders. 

The Cheviot breed, which ends the series of 
this group, originated in the hilly country on 
the frontiers of England and Scotland, and is a 
charming type constantly growing in popularity 
in our country. The name "Cheviot," applied 
to a fabric, sufificiently shows the value attached 
to the wool of this breed. Owing to the shape 
of its head, neck, and ears it forms a group 
apart. The head is bald and carried so low as 
to seem sunk below the level of its back, but 
its large ears stick up so droUy above its thin, 
pale face that it gives one the idea of a mouse. 



THE SHEEP 



179 



This breed is more useful for its supjilv of 
wool than of meat. Professor Phimb, one of 
our greatest sheep authorities, claims that the 
Cheviot produces mutton of supeiinr quaHt\. 
which stands high even 
in the land that pro- 
duces mutton as a first 
consideration. 

We now come to a 
group of English sheep, 
all popular breeds in 
our country, that differ 
from the foregoing in 
that the wool is medium 
in length, — longer 
than that of the Chev- 
iot and much shorter 
than that of the Lin- 
coln or Cotswold. They are clothed in a thick 
fleece of short wool of a yellowish color, which 
co\-ers nearly all the head and legs. Except 
for the absence of horns, their appearance re- 
calls that of the Merino sheep. The wool about 
the head and legs is black or 
brown. 

With us the Southdown is 
the generally accepted type of 
the mutton and short-wool 
sheep. The breed takes its 
name from the downs that line 
the southern coast of England. 
Its smooth, even body, its 
round, clean barrel, its short 
legs, its fine head and broad 
saddle, make it profitable for 
any American breeder or 
farmer. Its mutton has long 
been valued highly both here 
and abroad, always bringing 
the highest price. A saddle 
of Southdown mutton, cooked 
at the proper time, is perhaps 
the best of all meat dishes. 
A well-fed Southdown should 
weigh eighteen pounds the quarter at a year old, 
which is near the popular margin as to weight. 

The Shropshire shares the popularity of the 
Southdown and is slightly larger and heavier. 




GR.^Nn-Cn.\>u'ioN Lincoln Ewe 



the quarter weighing from nineteen to twenty- 
two pounds. It is readily adapte,d to good or 
thin pastures, and its mutton is excellent. For 
this reason it is found all over the United 
States and Canada. In 
appearance it favors the 
Southdown, its chief 
])rogenitor. The wool 
covers the whole face 
and scarcely leaves vis- 
ible the eyes and the 
black tip of the nose. 
1 1 also extends down the 
legs almost to the hoofs. 
The Hampshire 
Down is gaining in num- 
bers and popularity be- 
cause of its size and 
early maturing qualities. Southdown blood has 
entered into the improvement of this breed, 
introducing many ver_\- popular qualities, espe- 
cially compactness and breadth over ribs and 
loin, the region where the greater part of the 




A Kent R.\m, Champion at Many Exiuiution 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



marketable meat is found. No horns arc found 
among individuals of this breed. 

The body is rather long in shape and not as 
well-proportioned as that of the Southdown ; 



i8o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A South DOWN' Ra.m 

it does not make an agreeable impression be- 
cause of its stupid, heavy, coarse head. 

The Oxford Down is a double cross, the 
blood of the Hampshire and Cotswold hav- 
ing been used in establishing the breed. The 
animals of this breed are of a very superior 
quality, being heavier than the other breeds 
in the group and possessing excellent quality 
for the production of meat. They rank well 
as farm sheep, and are commonly 
found on the ranges of the West. 
The head is in great part covered 
with wool. 

The Suffolk breed is lighter in 
form and color than any of the pre- 
ceding ; its head and feet are dark 
brown, and while not so compact in 
form as the Hampshire it somewhat 
resembles it. So far only a few in- 
dividuals have found their way across 
the water to us, and it is unlikely that 
the breed will ever become popular 
in this country. 

Sheep with short wool have, as a 
rule, less power of resistance and less 
ability to adapt themselves to differ- 
ences in climate, soil, nourishment, and general 
regimen than the various races of long-haired 
sheep. 



VI. The Mount.mn Sheep 
OF Great Brit.aix 

Besides the foregoing, other 
races of sheep which have 
come under the ennobling 
hand of man are finding their 
way to the United States from 
Great Britain. 

The Dorset breed as we 
know it, with its heavy horns, 
its coarse and horny head, its 
strong legs, and the undeni- 
able defects of its conforma- 
tion, still keeps the type of 
other days. It is distinguished 
besides by its fine, short wool, 
and by the extraordinary fe- 
cundity of the ewes, which 
may give birth to lambs twice 
a year if rightly managed. Many breeders are 
profiting by this phenomenon and are raising 
winter lambs, which are fed and fattened in 
houses, — hothouse lambs they are called, — 
and in the dead of winter make their appear- 
ance as spring lamb on the tables of persons 
rich enough to pay a great price for it. For 
this purpose the Dorset is the sheep par 
excellence for winter-lamb production. This 




A Very Fine Specimen of a Dorset Ram 

breed, which is gaining favor so rapidly in 
this country, is confined in England to the hill 
country of Dorsetshire. 



THE SHEEP 



I8l 




Welsh Ewes 



The Exiiioor s/ircp, found cm the 
heights of Exmoor, shows more of 
the mountain type. Like the Dorset, 
this breed has horns, which appear 
on even the very young lambs. 

T/if Welsh mountain siteep resem- 
bles the latter except that the ewe 
has no horns. 

The bhiek-faced sheep oi the moun- 
tains resembles the moorland sheep 
in its long, coarse fleece and the color of the Merino they have been the most popular breeds 
heatl, which is spotted with black; the fleece in America; and now since wool has become 
is so long that it almost sweeps the ground. secondary, they arc likcl_\- to have a clean field 

in the future. 

VII. The Merino Sheep of 
Sp.mx 

The Merino race forms an inde- 
pendent type of mountain sheep of 
very ancient origin. The most 
ancient Roman writers — Pliny, 
Strabo, and others — have written on 
the ancestors of the Merinos and on 
the method of treating them. Virgil 
sings of them in his Gcorgies. 
'■ Shall I here describe," he says, 
" the shepherds and the pastures of 
Libya, whose few hamlets contain 
scarce any huts ? There the flocks 
browse day and night for months together, and 
traverse the vast deserts without shelter, so 




A Celebrated Mount.ain R.am with Bl.ack He.ao 



The Scotcli mountain sheep, called the Hard- 
wick breed, lives on the rocky slopes of the 
north of Scotland ; its wool resembles that of 
the preceding species, but the head and legs 
are white. It has terrific horns, which curl 
round in front of the head in great circles. 
This animal is hardened to the most intense 
cold, to violent winds, and to deep snows, 
under which it seeks its food. 

The Shetland sheep is part moorland and 
part mountain sheep. It has no horns, and 
its wool is of a peculiar soft, warm te.xturc, 
and was much in vogue formerly for tin- 
manufacture of furs, and it is now knitted 
into shawls and other warm garments by 
the women of the Shetland Isles. Of these 
breeds the Southdown, Shropshire, Dorset, 
Hampshire, and Oxford Down are best 
known in the United States. Next to the 



almost boundless are those plains.' 




.•\ Welsh Ram 



l82 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Before the reign of Alexander Severus silk 
and cotton were unknown, and the Romans 
wore nothing but woolen garments; they liked 
them fine and were ready to pay high 
prices for them. In order to i 
prove the wool of the Taran 
to sheep they impor 
animals from Africa, 
which they crossed 
with their own, thus 
obtaining a very 
fine, soft wool. To 
these they added 
sheep from Anda- 
lusia and Cordova 
in Spain, and from 
Polenta in Italy, 
which were already 
famous for the fine 
texture of their black 
or dark brown fleece 

Ovid, who devotes to sheep 

certain verses full of gratitude 

tells us how they were valued not onlv , , , 

■' . . ^ A Merin 

for their wool but also for their milk 

and flesh. Nevertheless the Merinos and their 

ancestors have always been sheep for wool 

rather than for butchering. Ancient breeders 




paid little attention to the conformation of their 
bodies for butcher's meat ; the production of 
fine wool was the only thing they really cared 
about. Italy has never been a mutton- 
eating country ; even to this day 
the servants of a household 
obiect to it as food. 

he origin of the name 
" Merino " bears a re- 
lation to the origin 
of the sheep them- 
selves. They came 
by sea {met) to 
Spain, but nothing 
definite is known 
about their coming. 
, Their ancestors 
-' probably came, in 
part at least, from 
Africa, Spain having 
always held active inter- 
course with that continent, as 
is shown by the settlement of the 
Moors in the south of Spain, with their 
industries, their agriculture, and their 
knowledge of breeding, in which they attained 
great proficiency. On the other hand, there 
are some reasons that allow us to think that the 




SniiTLA.ND Sheep 



THH SHKKP 



183 



ancestors of the Merinos came from EnLjlancl, 
for up to a certain point these sheep ha\e char- 
acteristics that exactly correspond with the 
short-haired sheep of England, especially in 
quantity and qualit}'. There was long a keen 
rivalry between the wools of Spain antl Eng- 
land, so that Henry II, king of England, de- 
creed, in 1 189, that all cloth manufactured 
from Spanish wool should be publicly burned. 

In ancient times it was th 
tom to take the shec 
flocks to summer pa; 
on the mountain 
northern Spain, brin 
ing them back i 
w inter t o their 
southern homes. 
This practice be- 
came general in 
the fifteenth cen- 
tury as a conse- 
quence of the 
great wars of that 
period, w h i c h 
obliged the own- 
ers of vast flocks 
to sa\-e them from 
the eye of the 
enemy. Princes, 
nobles, and con- 
vents alone had 
the right to make 
these migrations. 
As many of them 
owned the land 

through which the flocks traveled they derived 
a considerable revenue from this jirivilege. 
Stone boundaries were set up in all directions, 
marking the broad way through which the 
sheep might pass. The width was usually 
about thirty-six yards, but in some places it 
was nearly one hundred yards. On these paths 
the flocks and their shepherds alone had the 
right of way, and the latter knew well how to 
defend that right. 

The great flocks, counting often eighty thou- 
sand animals, were divided into bands num- 
berino: from one thousand to fifteen hundred 



A M.AD.XG.xscAR Sheep 



each, in order that there might be no famine on 
the way. Each band, or troop, was led by five 
or six men with their dogs ; the latter served 
only to keep off the wolves, always following the 
flock at some distance. No one had the right 
to protect his property from the devastation 
caused by the migrating sheep. If it pleased 
the shepherds to camp with their flock on some 
fertile property, the owner had to resign himself 
to the ruin of his cro])s. Agriculture 
tely impossible in 
ily of these sheej) 

ards the close of 
e eighteenth cen- 
ury an edict of the 
ing of Spain gave 
to the owners of 
such property the 
right to inclose 
their lands and 
thus save them 
from the depreda- 
tions of the sheep; 
but it w a s n o t 
until the nine- 
teenth century 
that a royal de- 
cree gave back to 
the proprietors, 
great and small, 
all rights to the 
control of their 
a n d. That was 
the entl, in Spain, 
of the raising of Merino sheep in vast num- 
bers. Pastiu'cs were transformed into wheat 
fields, vincN'ards, and olive orchards. The great 
migrations became a thing of the past, and the 
Merino sheep have now been largely replaced 
by others that give more meat and remain on 
the farms. 

Italy, also, had flocks which migrated to 
the Apennines and the Abruzzo from the 
plains of Apulia, and stilf has them, but they 
never traveled such long distances as in Spain. 
The south of 1<" ranee also has traveling flocks 
which journey jjartly to the Pyrenees, but 




1 84 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Sheep on the Swiss Alps 

chiefly to the Alps, where the sheep that spend 
the winters near the mouths of the Rhone and 
along the banks of the Crau are congregated 
in summer. On the plains of the Crau they are 
never put into sheepcots except at shearing 
time. At night they are kept in inclosures 
made with hurdles of willow branches, renewed 



every second day. The shep- 
herds stay night and day with 
their flocks in the open air, 
the dogs keeping watch out- 
side the hurdles against wild 
animals. In the morning each 
shepherd takes out his troop 
and leads it to the pasturage 
appointed for it. The Merino 
was first brought to the 
United States in iSoi, be- 
tween which date and 1812 
large numbers, probably as 
many as twenty thousand, 
were landed and scattered 
chiefly through New England, 
the Atlantic states, and Ohio. 
Conspicuous in these importa- 
tions were David Humphreys, 
Minister to Spain; Chancellor Livingston, Min- 
ister to France ; and William Jarvis, Consul to 
Portugal. These gentlemen, mindful of the im- 
portance of the sheep industry in the United 
States at the time, which called for wool of 
fine quality and fine fiber, carefully examined 
the sheep in these countries, and, being satisfied 




Spanish Sheep 



THE SHEEP 



185 



of their adaptability and usefulness here, not 
only urged the importance of these animals 
but even brought many specimens with them 
when they returned home. 

For a great many jears the Merino was our 
most popular sheep, and in the northern sec- 
tions of the country sheep raising was an im- 
portant industry even on small farms. The 
Spanish Merino has been greatly improved 
by American breeders; the type has been 
changed, the wool made longer and finer, and 
the carcass improved. Changes have been suf 




A Groui 



Ohio K.ams 



remains a fact that the American and Spanish 

Merino are one and the same animal, although 

ficient to indicate a new breed, some breeders the American type is materially different from 




Sheep on the Hillside, Wyoming 



being inclined to call our Merino, though of its old ancestor. The Merino also went into 



Spanish inheritance, the American Merim 
While the argument is clear and true, it stil 




Ewe and L.v.mh, Ohio 



France, where it is known as the Rambouillet ; 
and into Germany, where it is known as the 
Saxony Merino. Like the American Merino, 
many changes have been effected over the 
original stock, justifying the claims for new 
names for an old breed. 

The French Merinos have, perhaps, a larger 
carcass than the average American Merino. 
The French breeders were also the first to pro- 
duce a Merino combing wool, from which have 
been developed some of the most interesting 
and profitable branches of wool manufacturing, 
though they have subsequently found rivals 




Competition for Shepherds in' Germany 




Sheep Market in Holland 



THE SHEEP 



187 



among the breeders of fine-wool sheep in 
America, Germany, and Australia. 

Merino sheep were first imported into 
France in 1766. In 1786 a flock of four hun- 
dred was imported from Old Castile and estab- 
lished at Rambouillet. With great difficulty 
these sheep were saved during the Rc\'olution, 
and to-day the Rambouillet mutton has a 



to the African sheep, with its long, outwardly 
cur\ed nose, its flabb)', pendent ears, and its 
short, fat tail. The lambs of this race supply 
the well-known fur. While still \cr_\- )'oung 
they are covered with a short, fine wool, curled 
Yer\' tightly in small locks all o\'er the body. 
Long hairs sofin appear among these locks, 
and for that reason the lambs are killed within 




En Routk KdK TIU-; Si,.\rf;iiTEK Hoisic 



European rejiutation, and is faxorabh' known 
on many American farms. 

The different varieties of sheep in all parts 
of Europe are so numerous that we can name 
here only a few, which serve the world at large 
with some special lu.xury. 

Bokhara, a district of southern Russia, that 
paradise of the ovine race, with its dry climate 
and its vast grassy steppes, has millions of 
sheep of all breeds, but especial !)• the astra- 
k/iaii. This animal bears much resemblance 



a \ery few da\s of their hiilh. These skins 
bear the name of "krimmer," and are sold in 
the Crimea for S2.50 each. The skins called 
"astrakhan," which come from oider lambs, 
cost only Si. 25. To assist the curling of the 
hair the young lambs are sewn up, chuing their 
brief existence, in another skin or in a j^iece of 
coarse linen. 

Among the mountains of the south of 
France we timl the breed that produces the 
famous Rociuetort cheese. This cheese is 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Sheep Market in Paris 

made by mixing clotted milk with moistened 
bread. Between three layers of the curds 
are placed two layers of bread crumbs, ground 
to powder. This bread is made expressly of 
wheat, rye, barley flour,, and yeast. The 
mixture is then pressed into porcelain molds 
with holes at the sides. Next it is dried and 
salted in a particular manner and placed to 
ripen, that is, to mature, in grottoes or caves 
in the, mountains. Thirty or forty days are 
required to ripen these cheeses, during 
which time they are covered with a thick 
mold which has to be frequently removed. 
The manufacture of this cheese is now in 
the hands of a corporation. 

VIII. Wool 

In addition to meat and milk for the 
food of man, fat for soap and candles, bones 
to make buttons, and skin transformed into 
parchment, leather, kid gloves, shoes, furni- 
ture covering, and harness, wool is, and has 
been from time immemorial, the chief pro- 
duction of these useful animals. 

The most ancient bibhcal stories make 
mention of the shearing of sheep and of the 
custom of making the occasion a festival 
coincident with that of the harvest. As we 
have already seen in treating of the differ- 
ent races, there is a great difference in the 
quality of the wool. We may disregard 
the short fleeces covering head and legs. 
The long fleeces are divided into two 



qualities, — one of superior 
solidity and full of marrow, 
and the other soft, downy, and 
without marrow. If we exam- 
ine a thread of wool under the 
microscope, we find it com- 
posed of cells which overlap 
each other like the scales of 
a fish, and within is a hollow, 
full of marrow, forming the 
medullary canal. The coarser 
the wool the larger the canal ; 
in very fine wool it is wholly 
absent. In some races this 
marrow canal, which their 
ancestors certainly possessed and which still 
predominates in the wild sheep now existing, 
is completely replaced by a species of down 
without marrow, a wool which is of far greater 




Very Long P^leece 



THE SHEEP 



189 



value to man. The Merino is an examjilc of 
a race which now produces this improved wool, 
but many other breeds of short-wool sheep 
have the same quality. 

The quality of the wool is judged b\' its 
curls (as, for instance, the number there are 
to the square inch) ; by the length when 
uncurled and stretched out ; b_\- the weight 
which each thread can bear without breaking; 
by its elasticity, that is to sa\-, its power to 
curl up again after being stretched out ; and 
finally, by its color and brilliancy. 

The great variety of wools now existing ma\' 
be classed in two groups, — the fine or short 
and carding wool, and the long, coarse, and 
combing wool. For the manufacture of cloth 
the former — such, for instance, as the Merinos 
supply — is used. The softer materials, such as 
thibet, are made with longer, less curly wool, 
which is carded before it is spun ; these latter 
fabrics bear the name of ctaniittc, or tamniv 
cloth. The manufacture of these softer fabrics, 
such as cashmere, homespun, serge, cheviot, 
zibeline, and flannel, has rather driven into the 
background the making of cloth, properly so 
called ; consequently the Merinos, which fur- 
nished the finest wool for the latter purpose, 
have been supplanted, especially in France and 
Germany, by breeds whose fleece is lighter 
and more porous. 

In some countries, ours especialh', it is 
the custom to wash the sheep before shearing 
them; in others they are not washed, and the 



fleece is sokl with all the grease and sweat in 
it. This is certainly advantageous for the 
seller. In some parts of the Old World, when 
the shearing is on a large scale, the sheep, 
numbering sometimes twenty thousand, are 
put into huge covered sheds, whence they are 
drix'en into a sweating compartment, where 
they are crowded one upon another to induce 
perspiration. These compartments have neither 
doors nor windows ; the animals are exhausted 
intentionally, and their health is partially sacri- 
ficed solely to obtain a heavier fleece and to 
make the harsh wool of the rams softer and 
more supple. 

After the sale the fleeces are washed by 
the manufacturers of the cloth. At the height 
of the wool production in Spain, when great 
quantities were exported to foreign countries 
(in 1796 these exports amounted to twelve 
million pounds), the king of Spain derived vast 
sums from an export tax. In the year just 
mentioned it amounted to $1,496,000. 

Formerly the fleece was pulled from the 
body of the animal at the molting or shed- 
ding season. The custom still prevails in Ice- 
land and in some other European countries ; 
but the present method, especially with us, 
is to shear with a machine, operated either by 
hand or power, that cuts the wool with perfect 
regularity, docs not wound the sheep, and 
reduces the time necessar_\' to shear one ani- 
mal from half an hour to ten minutes and 
even less. 



VI 
THE GOAT 



I. In Ancient Times 



The goat even more than the sheep is the 
inhabitant of mountains. This animal, closely 
related to the sheep, the antelope, and the 
deer, likes warmth and dryness, and is most 
at its ease in central Asia, the Himalayas, 




A Dutch Goat 

and other mountains of the torrid zone, where, 
in fact, we find its cradle, whence it has spread 
through Europe, and, to some extent, through 
America. It has prospered in the countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean, — in northern 
Africa and southern Europe, — and several 
islands in that sea derive their name from it. 
In Corsica the number of goats is estimated 



at ninety thousand. Malta gives its name to 
a special race. But Greece and her islands 
can boast of more than the rest of Europe, 
possessing one hundred and twenty for every 
hundred of the population, while France, 
Germany, and Austria have only from four 
to five, the United 
States three, and Rus- 
sia only two for every 
hundred of their inhab- 
itants. According to 
the most trustworthy 
calculations there are 
about twenty millions of 
goats in Europe. There 
are nearly two millions 
in the United States. 

The goat has been a 
domestic animal from 
time immemorial. Like 
the sheep, it is easy to 
tame. The Greeks and 
the Romans, as well as 
the Hebrews, knew the 
goat as a domestic ani- 
mal : witness the manner 
in which Jacob deceived 
his blind father. The 
ancients raised these an- 
imals for their milk, of 
which they also made 
cheese, and for their 
meat, which is tooth- 
some when the animal is 
young, but uneatable when old on account of 
its horrible odor. The skins were used to carry 
drinking water by the migratory tribes of the 
East ; they were also used for clothing, a practice 
still continued by the Kirghiz of central Asia. 
The skin of goats is used in our day for 
the manufacture of kid for gloves, morocco, 
shagreen, and other fine leathers, and also for 



190 



THE GOAT 



191 



parchment. The United States especially 
uses these skins in manufactures, importing 
annually not less than twenty-five millicjn dol- 
lars' worth. The hair of goats is also vcr\' 
useful for the manufacture of brushes of all 
kinds, as well as for hats; in Eastern countries 
it is used in the manufacture of shawls, and 



cows' milk so dangerous to children and to 
sick or feeble persons. Throughout Europe 
and America cattle are much infected with 
tuberculosis, which makes great ravages among 
men, whereas it may be said never to appear 
among goats. It is an established fact that 
while the milk of cows may convey disease 




mohair is obtained from the fleece of the An- 
gora goats of Turkey. 

II. Go.ATS' MlI.K 

It is well to give a few details concerning 
the chief product of the goat in Europe, — its 
milk, which is very nourishing on account of the 
great quantity of fat and albumen which it con- 
tains, and also because it is easy to digest, and 
comes from an animal species little subject to 
disease, having especially great strength of re- 
sistance to tuberculosis, a disease whicli makes 



f -Vuliiiiatii m 



unless boiled or pasteurized, the milk of goats 
presents no such danger, and is c\-en a passive 
preservative against tuberculosis through the 
absence of the bacillus thereof ; which does 
not mean, however, that it is an active pre- 
servative. It is much to be desired that 
experiments should be made in this direction. 
A movement has lalclx' been started in the 
United States for the raising of Angora goats 
in the foothills of Te.xas, California, Arizona, 
and Oregon, bv patients in the first stages of 
tuberculosis, as a promising means of cure. 



192 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Support of the Fajiily 

A belief in the influence of the goat on vari- 
ous diseases is also very prevalent in the 
southern states and in Eng- 
land ; so much so that they 
are often kept in stables and 
cow barns to ward off disease 
from horses and cattle. 

Many persons, especially in 
Europe and America, have a 
repugnance to goats' milk on 
account of its bitter taste, 
the cause of which lies in the 
food and general treatment 
to which the animals are sub- 
jected. The goat is not 
dainty ; it will eat with satis- 
faction what other animals 
reject, such as bark of trees, 
bushes, wild fruits, berries, 
etc. ; tobacco it considers a 
dainty. In short, it eats any- 
thing it can get ; and if all 
sorts of bad food are given to 
a goat, and if, moreover, it is 
shut up in a damp and dirty 
stable, it is no wonder if the 



milk both tastes and 
smells repulsive. But if, 
on the contrary, the ani- 
mal has fresh air, good 
food, and cleanliness, it 
will give good, sweet 
milk. In Eastern coun- 
tries goats' milk is pre- 
ferred to cows' milk, for 
which, indeed, the Arabs 
have a great aversion. 

About four years ago 
M. Joseph Crepin, a 
member of the National 
Acclimation Society of 
France, opened at Paris 
a goats'-milk creameiy 
especially for children 
and invalids, which has 
since passed into the 
hands of a corporation, 
M. Crepin having solely 
in view the acceptance of his idea in the sani- 
tary interests of the public. 




Sarnen He-Goat 



THE GOAT 



193 



III. Descent 

Buffon's supposition that the tame goat of 
Europe comes from a mixture of the camel 
and the wild goat has been contradicted for 
many good reasons, and especially because of 
the fact that the camel and the wild goat, 
far from consorting in their wild state, avoid 
each other's society. Buffon's idea had long 
existed, but it is now generally considered that 
the Bezoar goat of Asia maile its wa}- into 
Europe by the south. 

Several varieties of the wild goat still exist 
in Europe, Asia, and Africa, but in Europe 
they have almost disappeared. In the four- 
teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries they 
were found in vast numbers in the Alps, 
from Mont Blanc to Salzburg in Styria. They 
were usually seen in large troops on the high- 
est mountains, seeking their food near the 
snow limit. The bucks were very tall, with 
large horns curving slightly backward. The 
females were much smaller in size, with small 
horns. They were and are bold leapers, and 
will spring without hesitation from one pointed 
rock to another, across giddy preci])ices, flee- 
ing o\-er glaciers, if pursued. 

This interesting animal (known now as the 
chamois) maintained its abode for a long time 





Go.\TS cALLKi) '• Hr.inr.EiTE ' 
Prize winners, 1903 



Fkin 

n the mountains of Piedmont, in the vicinity 
f Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Monte 
Rosa. The Italian govern- 
ment has done its best to 
protect the last remnants 
of this fine species, but the 
passion for hunting and its 
dangers exercises such irre- 
sistible influence on sports- 
men that the_\- brook nothing 
that interferes with its indul- 
gence. When we read travel- 
ers' tales by personages often 
high in rank we are amazed 
to see with what delight 
those gentlemen (.') will fire 
upon a poor chamois, or 
other wild animal, poised on 
an inaccessible rock, without 
other object than to see it 
fall into a deep abyss, where 
it lies with broken limbs, 



194 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



a prey to suffering, death, and putrefaction. 
We might understand such cruelty in some 
poor creature trying to earn a living, but it 
ought never to enter the minds of educated 
men, or at least those who regard themselves 
as such. We must, however, add that the 
chamois living on the highest, wildest, and 
most inaccessible rocks has often sold his life 
dear at the cost of that of many a hunter. 



existing at the period of the lake villages of 
Switzerland were precisely the same as those 
of to-day, which proves that until now man 
has not thought it worth while to improve this 
animal species. There is little or no difference 
between the exteriors of the Norwegian, Swiss, 
Spanish, and Grecian goats. Everywhere we 
find them with or without horns, and with long 
or short hair, striped with many discordant 




ATS WITH HORXS 



The chamois mates successfully with the 
domestic goat, and is easily tamed; but its pas- 
sion for climbing never dies, and its progeny 
inherit it. 

IV. The Domestic Goat 
Up to the present time little pains have 
been taken to divide the tamed goats into 
species, but of late persons are beginning 
more and -more to distinguish and improve the 
different breeds. It is a fact that the goats 



colors — yellow, red, white, reddish brown, 
gray, and black. Goats of a single color are 
rarely found, unless they have come through 
the hands of breeders who have bred them 
with that idea in view. 

The Swiss goat of tlic Sanicn is the chief 
species of central Europe. It comes from 
the valleys of the Sarnen and the Simmen, 
and is characterized by its color, which is 
wholly white, by the absence of horns, and 
especially by its great production of milk. 



THE (;OAT 



195 



The hair is usually short and rough, the bcanl 
long and hcav)-. The bucks are tall — over 
three feet. The race has delicate heads, slen- 
der necks, long bodies, straight backs, slim 
legs, and large, tender, 
hairless udders in the 
ewes. With good food 
the production of milk 
is about si.\ quarts a day, 
though some give seven, 
eight, or even twelve 
quarts. The annual pro- 
duction is from twelve 
to eighteen hundred 
quarts, though the goat 
Betty, belonging to the 
Breeding Society of 
Pfungstadt, gave three 
thousand quarts in one 
year. 

For this qualit)' the 
Sarnen goat has been 
imported in great num- 
bers since 1887 into 
France, Germany, Bel- 1 

gium, Holland, England, 

and even South Africa, and not a few have 
been brought to the United States. 

The Swartzcnboiirg-Guggisbcrg goat comes 
also from the valley of the Sarnen, especially 
from the neighborhood of Stockhorn, Erlen- 
bach, and Schwenten. It is of various colors. 



horns, while others are without them; the pro- 
duction of milk is about three quarts a day. 

The Appcnzel ox flat-hcadcd goat comcf, from 
the canton of that name : it is without hcjrns 













Swiss GO.VTS CALLED " DE SaRSEK" 

much spotted and variegated, sometimes with 
a black back and a white stomach, or with 
white stripes and other variations. Some ha\e 



.fil.w CoAis wniinrT Horns 

and is gencrall}' while, though sometimes it 

is dark or spotted. The production of milk is 

about five quarts daily. 

The Toggcnbourg goat is, from the canton of 

St. Gall. It is brown, with long white stripes 

on the head; the legs are white, and it has no 
horns. It is a very handsome, well- 
made goat, which j^roduces si.x quarts 
of milk daily. 

The Freiburg or Grcycrs goat and 
the black-iicckcd goat of the J 'alais 
are foimd in the cantons of those 
names and in the Tyrol ; the latter 
breed, which is strong and well made, 
has the front half of the body black, 
and the rear half white. Both species 
are good milkers. According to Pro- 
fessor Anderegg, of Berne, twenty- 
six different species of goats are 

found in Switzerland. 

In the Savoy Alps there are very fine goats, 

of which the Manricnne is the best breed. The 



196 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Three Maltese Goats (left), Two Native Belgian Goats (center) 



head, neck, and forward part of the body and 
the legs are a fine saffron yellow, merging 
sometimes into gray, while over the rest of 




A Dangerous Situation 



the body a beautiful black mantle is spread, 
which results in a splendid contrast of colors. 

If we turn southward from the Alps we 
come upon the Pyrenees with its particular 
breed called the Race of the Pyrenees ; these 
goats are long-haired, either white or black, and 
carry magnificent horns. This is the principal 
breed that goatherds drive in droves through 
towns to deliver milk for children and invalids. 

The Maltese goat, on the island of Malta, 
is narrow behind, without horns, short-haired, 
and somber in color, — generally brown or 
snuff-colored, varied with white. The hair is 
moderately fine, between the soft hair of the 
Angora and the rough hair of the Norwegian 
goats. Most of them have small horns, but 
the island also possesses a long-horned variety. 

Italian goats live chiefly among the Apen- 
nines ; in the days of the Romans they formed 
the chief wealth of the inhabitants of the 
mountain regions. 

In Germany there are several much-esteemed 
breeds, among them being the Black Forest, 



THE GOAT 



197 



a fine goat the color of a deer, and the little 
goat of Langcnsaha (Saxony), which is usually 
white, although sometimes brown with a stripe 
along the back. 

The Norwegian goat resembles the black- 
necked goat of Switzerland, the hair being 
long and waving ; the horns of the buck are 
well developed. 

The common Englislt goat is often without 
horns, ill-shaped, and rough-haired. The com- 
mon Irish goat is the true type of a milch 
goat. The back is often a little hollow, the 
horns curve backward, and the hanging ears 
are rather long. They, like their English 
sisters, can claim no beauty. 

The Fleviish goat of Belgium is of two 
breeds, — the deer goat and the sheep goat. 
Both are closely related and are sometimes 
mingled. The first has a delicate head, slim 
neck, slender legs, short, smooth hair, and a 
gay and lively temperament. The sheei^ goat, 
on the contrary, is coarser in every way, with 
a calmer or, so to speak, more sheepish nature. 
The color of these Belgium goats is usually a 
magnificent reddish brown, or else a chamois 
color, which is the most desired. 

Among the goats outside of Europe we 
must here mention the 
principal species. First 
comes the Syrian goat, 
found chiefly in Syria 



to two thousand. Their cfilor varies, being 
gray, yellow, brown, and black ; many have 
beautiful sky-blue eyes. The hair is long, espe- 
cialh' on the hind quarters, whereas on the 
neck it is short and \'ery brilliant. The Arabs 





Norwegian Hf.-Chiat 

and Palestine, but also in the warm regions of 
Asia as far as the islands of the Indian Ocean. 
They live in flocks numbering from five hundred 



WOXDEUFUI, Toi.KKANCI'. ! 

use this hair for the manufacture of stuffs 
and rugs, making the inferior ciualities into 
portieres for tents, and even ropes. E\"cn when 
ill-fed these goats can still give from three to 
si.x quarts of milk a day. This milk has not 
the bitter taste nor the offensive odor which 
characterize that of the European goats. Grass 
being rare in their pasturage, their food con- 
sists chiefly of acorns and of a fruit called 
" St. John's bread." The butter and cheese 
made from the milk of these goats is cele- 
brated for its excellence. 

The flocks of Palestine are sometimes 
decimated by a contagious disease, a species 
of yellow fever, which often mows down sixty 
per cent of them. The Arabs consider this 
a punishment for their own sins, and bless 
Allah that he does not take the whole 
flock. 

The .Ynhian goat lives in Upper Egvpt, 
Nubia, and the mountains of Abyssinia. In 
i860 the Negus of Abyssinia sent a young 
hippopotamus as a present to Napoleon III, 
and with it a number of these goats to serve 
as wet nurses. It is related that they each gave 
from fifteen to eighteen quarts of milk a day. 



198 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



The Cas/itnere goat is found in Cashmere and 
in Tibet. It is not tall ; it has a rather large 
head and pendent ears. Its long, spiral horns 




Ready to take out Baby 

curve obliquely backward. The outer hair is 
long, fine, straight, and stiff, but beneath it is 
the extremely fine, soft, fleecy wool which has 
made this species of goat so famous. The 
color of the outer hair is white, silvery, pale 
yellow, or light brown ; the wool runs from 
white to gray. This wool enables the animal 
to bear the severe cold of the mountains of 
Tibet. It is sheared in May or June ; the long 
hair is carefully separated from the brilliant 
and silky wool, of which each goat can supply 
from one to one and one-half pounds. For 
the making of the third of a yard of a cash- 
mere shawl the wool of seven or eight goats 
is needed. Under the rule of the Great 
Mogul forty thousand weavers of shawls 
worked in Cashmere ; but after that country 
was made subject to the Afghans this fine 
industry received a blow from which it has 
never recovered. 

The Angora goat, which is growing so popu- 
lar with us, comes from Asia Minor, and takes 
its name from the ancient commercial city of 



Ankyra, now known as Angora. This animal 
is well shaped, and has long, broad, pendent 
ears. The bucks have long, flat, finely curved 
horns, while those of the ewes are 
smaller and simpler. The hair of this 
species is celebrated, and has long 
been an article of commerce in much 
demand. The wool is abundant, thick, 
long, fine, soft, shining, silky, and 
slightly curled. The color is mostly 
a brilliant snow-white, although some- 
times dark patches occur. In summer 
it is shed in great locks, but soon 
grows out again. During the hot 
weather the animals are washed and 
combed continually to increase the 
beauty of the wool. They are sheared 
in winter. Most of the wool is sold at 
Angora, whence it is sent chiefly to 
England, the exportation amounting 
to millions of pounds. 

The finest Angora wool (called 
mohair) comes from goats a year old ; 
it deteriorates in the following years, 
until at six years of age it becomes 
useless. In other climates, especially if damp, it 
loses its good qualities, which explains why the 
importation of the animal into America for wool 
alone has so far not proved very satisfactory. 

V. Improvement Societies 
Influential persons are trying in many coun- 
tries to improve the breeding of goats ; rewards 



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Yearling Angora Buck 



THE GOAT 



199 




Exiiir.iTioN OF Goats in Harness 



are offered for improved animals, competitions Sometimes the societies devote their efforts 

have been organized, and genealogical records to the improvement of the native breeds, 

established. Germany has a great number of although as a general thing Swiss goats are 

these societies, especiallv in the grand duchies, imported to improve them. 




VKAKI-IM, ami .\(,I.Ii .\^ 



BccKs. Calh-oknia 



200 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



In England the British Goat Society, 
founded in 1879, works in this direction. At 
the head of it are persons of wealth, whose 
object is to favor the breeding and rational 
treatment of these animals among the poorer 
classes. The society provides instruction on 
the goat, its milk and meat, 
hoping to remove the English 
prejudice against them, as 
well as to improve the con- 
formation of the animals and 
their production of milk. 

In 1902 a Belgian society 
for the improvement of the 
goat was formed in Brussels. 
It has the same object as all 
the other societies, with this 
difference, that it not only 
imports Swiss goats but en- 
deavors also to improve its 
own very beautiful indigenous 
species of the deer goat, on 
the principle that before 
attempting to improve a breed as to conforma- 
tion and temperament, you should first begin 
by cultivating a pure race. 

VI. Character of the Goat 

Every one knows the gayety of young kids, 
which prompts them to cut the most amusing 
and burlesque capers. The goat is naturally 



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Playfulness 



capricious and inquisitive, and one might say 
crazy for every species of adventure. It posi- 
tively delights in perilous ascensions. At times 
it will ■ rear and threaten you with its head 
and horns, apparently with the worst inten- 
tions, whereas it is usually an invitation to 
play. The bucks, however, 
fight violently with each 
other ; they seem to have no 
consciousness of the most ter- 
rible blows. The ewes them- 
selves are not exempt from 
this vice. 

The goat is a sociable ani- 
mal ; take away her companion 
and she will bleat for days and 
refuse to eat or drink. She 
loves to be caressed by man, 
and is very jealous if atten- 
tions are shown to a rival. 
The bucks when trained will 
draw their little masters by 
the hour, if kindly treated ; 
but if they are teased or ill-used, they will fre- 
quently refuse positively to do their work. 
They know very well whether or not they have 
deserved punishment. Drive them out of the 
garden, where they are forbidden to go, with 
a whip and they will flee without uttering a 
sound ; but strike them without just cause and 
they will send forth lamentable cries. 



VII 
TME PIG 



All of our important breeds of hot;;s have 
descended from the wild hog {S/is apcr) that 
once roamed over Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
What people first subjugated the wild hog and 
brought him into a better style of living, history 
has not tt)ld us, nor has any one attempted to 
say just when this subjugation took place. 
The wild hog is a very active and powerful 
individual ; when he grows old he is e.xtremely 
fierce and dangerous. Generally speaking, the 
color is an iron-gray or a dirty brown, spotted 
here and there with black. Like his descend- 
ants, only to a very much greater extent, the 
original hog was covered with coarse, long hair 
that showed bristles of great prominence all the 
time, and especially when the animal was irri- 
tated. The head of the wild hog is large, bony, 
and coarse ; the large jaw is covered with the 
tusks that inflict severe wounds ; the neck is long 
and muscular, and the loins broad and strong. 
The wild hog makes a foe fearful to combat 
when attacked by an enemy of any sort. In his 
wild habitat he selects places that are moist, 
rather well concealed by forest growth, where 
he may feed upon plants, fruits, and roots of vari- 
ous kinds, though when hunger affects him he 
greedily appeases his appetite on worms, snakes, 
and flesh of any kind. The twilight, early dawn, 
and nighttime seem by choice his favorite 
periods for seeking food, sport, adventure, and 
exercise. Sense of smell has been developed 
to such a marked degree in the wild hog that 
he is able to detect the presence of food though 
it be covered in the ground. Like other domes- 
tic animals in their wild and native state the 
wild hog seeks thick forests and there herds 
with his kind for safety and protection; when 
age comes on he strolls much about by himself, 
never seeking danger, but when it comes he 
avoids it not. It has been estimated that 
thirty or forty years is not an infrequent age 
for some of these wild animals to attain. 



When young are born they follow their mother 
for several months, in fact, remain with her as 
much as a year or more, when each individual 
becomes bolder and goes farther from the home 
land, naturally drifting apart by himself. 

It is surprising with what ferocity and cour- 
age the wild boar meets an attack, and with 
what ease he wards it off. Because of courage 
and fierceness the wild hog has from the earliest 
ages been the favorite sport with all classes 
and conditions of society. Particularly is this 
true with the nobility of England and Germany. 
When Rome was at her supreme height the wild 
hog entered largely into the sports and fights 
of the times. The wild hog of to-day, while his 
numbers are small and his territory very limited, 
remains true to his ancestry and habits. He 
has lost neither his strength nor his endurance, 
and when chased by hunters and sportsmen 
the most powerful horses are necessary, else 
they will be distanced in the chase. 

The domestic pig may degenerate and be- 
come wild and grisly, yet he never takes up to 
the fullest extent the habits of his ancestor, who 
"walks the glade in savage, solitary grandeur." 

Despite the fierceness of the wild hog, every 
people appreciates his racial worth. 

I. LoN'G A Source of F"ood 
The hog has been the jirincipal quadruped 
in the South Sea Islands, and more carefully 
cultivated there than any other animal. For 
a long time he was used as a most precious 
sacrifice to the deities. The hog is recorded 
as sacred on the island of Crete also. We are 
told that the Greeks at the beginning of harvest 
time sacrificed a hog to Ceres, and at the 
beginning of vintage a hog was sacrificed to 
Bacchus. As meat, hog flesh has long been 
esteemed ; this is plainly indicated by the 
many allusions of great authors. The hog 
entered largely into the diet of the Romans, 



202 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



and all sorts of practices were employed to 
impart delicate flavor to the flesh. Pliny in- 
forms us that old, dried figs, drenched with 
honey and wine, were employed as a means of 
enlarging the liver, so choice a dish was it 
considered by Roman palates. It has been 
said also that the Romans often served hogs 
whole, one side being roasted and the other side 
boiled. Further still was this carried by stuff- 
ing the dressed animal with larks and nightin- 
gales and delicacies of all sorts, and serving 
with wine and rich gravies. We can imagine 
how delicious this dish must have been by com- 
paring it with those barbecues and Brunswick 
stews so well known by our country people, 



Germany and France have also, from times 
immemorial, depended upon the pig for food ; 
while in Ireland, especially among the poorer 
classes, the pig is often the chief source of 
profit and the " gintleman that pays the rint." 
The early pig stock of our country and of the 
states to the south of us came first by the 
importations of the early Spanish explorers. 
The first ships that landed on our shores 
brought swine ; from this early stock the pig 
in America has come, its habitat spreading in a 
short time to the whole land. Since those days 
of exportation and adventure improved hogs 
of many breeds have been imported, especially 
from England, but from other countries as well. 




A Drove of Hogs in Ohio 



and which possess rich and delicate flavors 
never equaled by other domestic animals. 

We have, on the authority of Varro, the 
statement that the Gauls raised the largest 
and finest swine flesh that was brought into 
Italy during those early days. This is of 
interest in connection with the fact that the 
Italians and ancient Spaniards kept large droves 
of swine, which formed the principal part of 
their live stock. In those early days swine were 
common in Greece and in adjoining islands. 
While the Jews and the followers of Mohammed 
have always abstained from swine flesh, nearly 
all other peoples have found the pig of con- 
siderable importance in their food supplies. 
This is true of the ancient Britons. Good 
meat was supplied chiefly from the hog. 



II. The Pig in the Old World 
Throughout the Old World the pig abounds, 
its highest development being attained by 
English breeders. At the present time it is 
almost universally raised, and with some nations 
is the principal meat supply. 

In almost all parts of Asia swine may be 
found, — in Siam, Cochin China, Burma, and 
other southern countries. Here is found the 
celebrated Chinese hog that has been imported 
into many other countries, and which is noted 
for its small size, fine head and snout, compact, 
deep carcass, large hams and shoulders, fine 
bone, hair, and skin, and sweet, delicate meat. 
Travelers tell us that the Chinese treat their 
animals very kindly. It is given on the author- 
ity of one of our prominent men that the pig 



THE PIG 



203 



is not clri\c'n but carried from place to place 
in a kind of cradle, or basket hung on a pole 
between two men ; and as swine are often ob- 
stinate when about to enter these cradles, "the 
heathen Chinee," it is said, sometimes adopts a 
peculiar mode of loading. This is accomplished 
bv placing the pig in front of the pen, when the 
owner vigorously pulls at the pig's tail and in 
the spirit of opposition the animal darts into 
the desired place. At the end of the journey 
he is driven out by spitting in his face. 

Turkey, Syria, Persia, and Arabia have 
each different varieties of pigs, iron-gray, black, 
or brown in color, the bodies small and round 
in shape and of no great size. They are not 
raised in any great numbers, however, 
because of the nature of the soil and of 
the prevalence of the Mohammedan reli- 
gion, which forbids the use of swine flesh. 

Swine are scarce in Africa and of little 
value except in the northern part, where 
there is bred a reddish hog of good size 
and of rather stjuare form. This breed, 
known as "Guinea," has been imported 
into Brazil and into other countries. 

The Malta pig is black and of small 
stature; the skin is smooth, the hair fine 
and almost wanting. The quality of the 
flesh is good and of delicate taste. Spain has 
but few varieties, and these are somewhat 
similar to the Chinese, from which stock they 
have probably sprung. Italy is noted for her 
pigs. The Maltese and Neapolitan are both 
of rather small size, but are of good quality 
and flavor. These breeds are small and nearly 
destitute of hair ; they are easily fattened, and 
because of their quality they have been sought 
in other countries, where they are used in the 
creation of other breeds. 

The hog stock of P'rance and Gcrmanv is 
much inferior to our own or the English breeds, 
the common stock being long-legged, gaunt, 
coarse, and uncouth, resembling the wild boar 
in form, but lacking the flavor and quality of 
the latter. Improved varieties, however, are 
found in both countries. 

England ranks first in the improvement of 
swine. Our best breeds have come from 



England, or have been built up from the old 
English stock. Foreign and native breeds 
entered into the formation of noted English 
breeds of hogs, but the improvement has been 
effected there by careful, painstaking breeders. 
Of present English breeds the Yorkshire, large 
and small, has many admirers and is gain- 
ing constantly in favor. The large breed was 
improved by an introduction of blood of the 
white Leicester, an old slab-sided but large 
native hog ; and further improved by the 
introduction of blood of the improved white 
hogs at " Castle Howard." The improved 
Essex is at present a popular breed both in 
England and America. It is the product of a 




cross between the old Essex and the Xeajioli- 
tan, which was commenced by Lord Western 
in 1839. 

III. The Pig in Americ.\ 

It naturally follows, since the hog is not a 
native of this continent, that the ancestors of 
our many families and breeds must have been 
imported. They found here a land of corn and 
clover, two foods which the hog likes and which 
when fed to him produce quick and iirotitable 
returns. 

The first pigs that influenced the earlier 
inferior stock in way of improvement were a 
pair .sent by the Duke of Bedford to General 
Washington. This pair was never delivered, 
however, but kept by the English farmer who 
brought them over, who leased a farm and be- 
gan the breeding of these choice animals. De- 
scendants of this pair were used largely in the 



204 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



improvement of the common stock, and were 
known as the " Woburn" or "Bedford" breed, 
a splendid one at the time but since absorbed 
in other breeds. 

The Berkshire enjoys the distinction of a very 
ancient lineage. Formerly it was reddish in 
color with small black spots ; this color gave 
way to one more becoming the breed — black. 
The Berkshire in its early days was greatly 
improved by Chinese and Siamese blood, and 
later by that of the Neapolitan race, receiving 
from this latter breed its fine hair and skin, its 
rich plum color, and its delicate taste. 

The Poland-China is one of the most popular 
breeds in the United States, especially through- 
out the Middle West, where corn and pork 
production go so well 
together. The Poland- 
China is strictly an 
American breed, per- 
haps the most famous 
of the breeds that have 
been established in 
America. This hog 
originated in south- 
western Ohio, in the 
counties bordering on 
the Miami river, the 
common stock of the county being its basis. 

Many breeds — the Big China, Russian, By- 
field, Poland, Bedford, and Berkshire — contrib- 
uted to the perfection of this great pork-and-lard 
type of hogs. In color the Poland-China is 
spotted, black and white ; in size and form the 
breed is similar to the Berkshire, except that 
its frame is slightly larger and stronger ; the 
ear falls over the eye, while in the Berkshire it 
is short, pointed, and straight. 

Both the Poland-China and the Berkshire 
are quick-maturing and profitable pork-making 
machines. These two breeds are more widely 
diffused over the United States than any others. 

The Duroc -Jersey is also an American-pro- 
duced breed. Its breeding qualities are good, 
superior to those of either the Berkshire or the 
Poland-China. Its color is reddish or reddish 
and white. Duroc -Jerseys are quiet and good 
feeders, take well to grazing and to corn, and 



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Grand-Champion Tamworth Boar and Sow 



produce meat of good quality that has a fair 
proportion of lean meat. 

The Chester-White is in the same class as 
the preceding, and is an extensively known 
breed in the United States. Hardy, large, 
prolific, and well adapted to our systems of 
farming, it has become popular, and deservedly 
so. As a breed it was established in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania, from which place it 
gets its name. The hair is white and thin, and 
because of this fact it is not adapted to the 
hot climates of the southern states, at least 
that is the objection made to this and to other 
white hogs in the South. 

The Tamworth breed has become more or 
less known in the United States during recent 
years. While it is true 
that the breed gains 
favor slowly here, it is 
highly esteemed in 
Canada and across the 
water. The importance 
of these hogs for bacon 
gives them high rank 
whenever animals are 
wanted for this purpose. 
Among the smaller 
breeds may be men- 
tioned the small Yorkshire, a hog imported 
from England ; the Victoria and the Che- 
shire, two breeds established by New York 
farmers and held now in much favor ; and 
the improved Essex, black in color and high 
in favor because of the fine quality of its meat. 

IV. The Breed to Choose 
It is quite impossible to make a ranking 
list of breeds. Even in the same community, 
under the same conditions and environments, 
many breeds of hogs will be observed, show- 
ing that men honestly differ in opinion as to 
the merits and values of our different varieties 
of swine, as they do in other matters of life. 
It follows, then, that taste, fancy, and indi- 
yjdual choice will govern in the selection of 
a breed of hogs or of other animals. The 
beginner may make many inquiries only to be 
thrown back on his own judgment at last ; 



THE PIG 



205 



and it is well that this is the case. No one 
breed is best fitted for all conditions, so long 
as bacon or lard or pork is sought for itself 
alone, or even sought in conjunction with 
other secondary factors. There will be need 
of many breeds and of many families of the 
same breed. 

After one has selected the breed that 
pleases him, he should take pains t(j secure 
breeding stock of good type, form, quality, and 
constitution. The loss by disease is enormous ; 
hence none but individuals of robust consti- 
tution should be allowed to come on the place. 
Once selected, keep the line pure. Much harm 
has been done by cross breeding and through 
the use of grade or cross-bred sires. It is 



V. C.\RiNG FOR Swine 
The old idea that hogs will shift for them- 
selves, while true in effect, is a poor one to 
adopt, since it means small profits and often 
loss. The pig needs care, especially since he 
has been removed so far from his old wild 
life. And he responds to civilization as will- 
ingly as any animal on the farm. But one 
cannot e.xpect him to do his best where his 
only drink is the filth of the mudhole, his 
oiih' nest the manure pile, and his only food 
the leavings that all others shun. 

Give him pure water to drink, a clean bed 
in which to sleep, and a variety of food, and 
he will give greater profits than any other 
animal on the farm or any crop you raise. 




l'i;iii'iu I \' OF (^iiiii Si All: 1'm\i:ksi 1 N' 



money to one if he will use only pure-bred 
stock from the ver_\' start. Hogs are so com- 
mon and herds of pure breeding so easily 
available in every community that no dififi- 
culty will be encountered in starting right 
and continuing right. 

In selecting breeding stock one must bear 
these points in mind : short head, dished in 
the forehead, and good width between the 
eyes ; fine muzzles, with a short snout ; strong, 
bright eyes ; drooping or upright ears, not 
thick or coarse ; soft, mellow skin, with fine, 
silky hair, somewhat abundant but without 
bristles ; short, well-knit, and straight legs, 
standing well on small, strong feet ; full, long 
body, square and broad, with a straight back 
and under line. 



If one has a mortgage on his home, seek 
the help of the hog and he will raise it ; if 
one covets legitimate things, seek first his aid 
and these things will sfion come ; if one longs 
for luxuries he will bring them. Debts he 
will pay, lands he will improve, homes he will 
enlarge, children he will educate. These 
things the hog has done ten thousand times, 
and he will do them again, even better and 
more quickly, if one will but give him one half 
of the care and attention he deserves. 

The hog makes good use of the pasture. 
Give him the run of the clover field, for he will 
do no harm there, e\cn when placed among 
cattle, sheep, and horses. 

When provided with good grazing no other 
food is required; he will grow rajiidly and 



2o6 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



have a good account to give of the food he 
has eaten. Good, thrifty growth, not fat, 
is wanted while he is small and young, for if 
growth has been secured he will fatten very 




Feeding Pigs 

quickly and on a small amount of food. The 
mistake is often made of feeding an exclusive 
ration of corn. Corn is heating and fattening 
in effect, and until he has left pighood da3's 
corn is an improper food to give him, espe- 
cially as an exclusive diet. In his early days 
protein, the muscle maker, should enter largely 
into his diet. When given the freedom of the 
pasture or clover field this important food 
element is supplied to his delight and advan- 
tage. When he has reached the age of seven 
or eight months he may be brought in from 
the pasture and inclosed in a small feeding lot 
where pure water, soft coal, and ashes should 
be furnished in connection with corn. A few 
weeks of feeding, small quantities at first, will 
bring him to the close of his days, when he 
should be ready for market or to be slaughtered. 
Hogs of good breeding will readily weigh two 
hundred and fifty pounds when nine months 
old, if they have been provided with good 
pasture and reasonably good care. 

VI. Feeding Young Pigs 
As soon as young pigs begin to eat provide 
a shallow trough and place it where it is not 
accessible to the mother or older pigs. Give 
some kind of slop — milk and shorts is best 
— each day. Quick growth follows this treat- 
ment and with paying results. The trough 



must be kept clean, and an occasional thorough 
disinfecting will be desirable, not only for the 
trough but for the pigs as well. Clean sleep- 
ing quarters contribute their share to health, 
vigor, and rapid gains. If pasture is available, 
turn the mother and her young into it ; little 
of any kind of food other than good pasture 
grass will be needed. 

The writer has followed a plan for grazing 
hogs that has proved very successful. Eight 
one-half acre lots are provided, the lots being 
three rods in width and correspondingly long. 
In August one lot is seeded to rye, which 
makes good winter grazing ; in September the 
second lot is seeded to rye, which also makes 
good winter grazing ; in October the remaining 
lots are seeded to rye for spring grazing. The 
first rye lot is succeeded by cowpeas, planted 
as soon as spring will permit, and then through 
the spring and early summer the other lots 
follow on in rapid succession with co\\'peas. 
By this system winter, spring, and summer 
grazing are available, and provided with little 
labor, trouble, or expense. 

The great point in the management of 
young pigs is to keep them growing from the 
day of birth to the day they are slaughtered 




Mother Hog and Little Ones 

or sold. If thrifty and active they will grow 
rapidly ; if strong and vigorous they will be 
more likely to throw off disease if it attacks 
them, or, what is better, never get it at all. 



THE PIG 



207 



Our best hog raisers give their animals the 
full freedom of the fields as much as is pos- 
sible, that they may obtain the grasses they 
like, the exercise they need, and the cieanh- 
ness that means so much for health and \igor. 
We must remember that the prevention of 
disease is safer than remedies, and especially 
is this true of the hog. Clean pens, exercise, 
pasture grazing, and variety in food are all- 
important in successful management. 

The hog, if we regard the great number of 
people who receive food from its flesh, occu- 
pies, it is seen, a most important place in the 
domestic economy of all civilized countries. 
Swine flesh is wholesome and nutritive, and 
from its ready reception of salt it is better 
fitted iov preservation than that of any other 
animal. It is fitted, therefore, for sea voyages, 
for use in country districts where fresh meats 



are not at all times available, and for all uses 
where meat is desired but obtainable only many 
seasons after being slaughtered ; for these, 
and many other purposes, this kind of meat is 
eminently adapted. 

It forms not only a large portion of the 
animal food consumed by inhabitants of other 
continents but also enters largely into our own 
dietaries ; and from the facility with which it 
may be raised by the humble villager or 
laborer as well as by the breeder on a larger 
scale, it has been aptly styled the poor man's 
stock. Beyond any other animal the hog mul- 
tiplies with great rapidity ; he is reared with 
ease, and with little expense he is brought to 
maturity, so that it seems an error for any 
farmer to disregard this domestic animal, which 
is and always will be a source of household 
economy and comfort. 



VIII 
CATTLE 



I. The Bull, the Ox, and the Cow 
These horned beasts belong to an important 
group of domestic animals, if not from all 
points of view, at any rate from that of their 
utility to man. In fact no domestic animal 
contributes so much to man's welfare as the 
cow and her kind. She gives us milk, our 
most important food, to drink ; she provides 
us with butter and cheese, both wholesome 
and rich in food nutriments ; her iiesh enters 
largely into our dietaries ; the leather made of 
her hide covers our feet and provides us with 
necessities and luxuries in other directions ; 
and finally her bones, blood, and offal fertilize 
our gardens and fields. 

This race, together with the sheep and the 
goat, forms part of the great family of rumi- 
nants, the members of which differ very little 




Two Orphans 

from one another in the conformation of their 
teeth and stomachs. The bovines form a sub- 
division of the class of horned beasts by reason 
of their horns being hollow. 

This race {bos taitrus) must have had many 
ancestors. For instance, the Frisian ox is 



thought to be a descendant of the urns exist- 
ing in Csesar's day, and French beeves are 
supposed to be descended from the bison. The 
Podolian or Hungarian ox, whitish gray with 
long" horns, and of immense height, which 




Cow WITH Uneven Horns 

draws the heaviest loads over hundreds of miles, 
is related to the great white oxen of Italy, 
Spain, and Algeria mentioned by Varro. 

It is, however, difficult to determine at what 
period the race appeared in Europe. We find 
it by the side of man in all peoples and tribes 
as they issued from barbarism. The Egyptians 
utilized it thousands of years ago ; in fact they 
had such respect for certain bulls that they 
worshiped them as gods. The Chinese and 
the Japanese, civilized nations while Europe 
was still in its swaddling clothes, also used 
ISxen as draft animals thousands of years ago, 
and do so still, just as we do. After Europe 
became civilized we find bulls or oxen serv- 
ing as reproducers of their species or as 



CATTLE 



209 



beasts for agricultural labor, while cows were 
everywhere valued for their milk and meat. 
As furnishinir amusement bulls are now used 




Norman Mii.ck Cow 

only in Spain for bullfights and in the south 
of France for the famous "bull races." 

The bull or the draft ox, properly so called, 
no matter to what species he belongs, bears, 
as a general thing, the following type : a large 
head, the nape of the neck very broad, the 
legs long and sincwv, the hind quarters 
strongly developed, and the muscles visible 
tmder a relatively thin skin. His shape is 
long and angular. 

The animal intended for the shambles is, 
on the contrary, square in form, with rounded 
outlines. Its whole exterior shows massive- 
ness ; the head is narrow, the neck short and 
thick, the tail narrow, and the line of the 
back completely horizontal. Seen in front or 
behind the draft ox presents a narrow, thick- 
set body on long legs, w-hile viewed in the same 
manner the animal for butchering presents a 
body somewhat square-like in form, with ap- 
parently short legs. 

II. The Cow 
The cow {bos taunts domcsticiis) is stolid 
by nature and very little intelligence appears 
in the big, kindly eyes with which she stares, 
in the stable or in the field, at young and old, 
donkeys and trains, horses and boats. A single 



occupation seems to absorb her thoughts, — that 
of flicking off with her tail the flies that torment 
her as she browses the grass or chews the cud. 
Rumination is an essential thing with her, 
though she does it when half asleep ; essen- 
tial, that is, for the stomach of all ruminants, 
which is composed of four parts, — the rumen, 
the irticuhnii, the omasum, and the abomasitm. 
After being triturated and partly digested in 
the first stomach, or rumen, the insufficiently 
digested food is returned to the oesophagus 
and thence into the mouth, where it is mixed 
with the saliva secreted by the salivary glands 
as the cow chews it, after which she passes 
the cud downward to its destination. The 
cow has eight teeth in the lower jaw ; the 
upper jaw appears to have none, and persons 
ignorant of cattle would doubtless think so, 
but a connoisseur would tell them to " feel " 
the teeth. They then find a cartilaginous edge 
to the upper jaw which takes the place of front 
teeth, while at the two sides of the jaw at the 




I'hoto C. W. Kcid 

back are six large and very sharp teeth. The car- 
tilaginous front edge is far more useful for nip- 
ping off the grass than a row- of teeth would be. 
To the owner of milch cows the production of 
milk is naturally of the greatest importance. 



2IO 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



In all the females of the bovine race the milk 
is separated by glands. It is composed of a 
white, opaque substance in which small glob- 
ules of fat are floating. The two chief glands 




French Steer 

form the udder, and for the cattle breeder much 
depends on the position of the teats, and also 
on the roundness and volume of the udder, for 
milch cows that are otherwise equal in conform- 
ation and in appearance will show great differ- 
ences in their production of milk. There are 
some first-class cows that can give as much as 
twenty-four quarts of milk a day. Others give 
twenty, ten, and even less, although they are 
normal in shape, healthy in body, and in proper 
dairy condition. 

The first milk drawn, which is for the calf, 
is clear and yellow. It is useful in clearing 
from the stomach of the little animal various 
substances that are in him when he enters the 
world. The greatest production of milk is 
made when the cow is from five to ten years 
old, but it is a mistake to think that the milk 
of a cow which produces much is the best. 
Those furnishing a medium quantity daily may 
give richer milk ; that of some cows, however, 
is always poor. The quantity of the milk 
naturally depends much on food and on the 
condition of the pasturage, while the quality 



is hereditary like color or form or breed. This 
explains why the cattle of meadow and grass 
lands are so celebrated, and why the industries 
of butter and cheese making flourish in those 
regions. 

An examination of the ex- 
terior of the bovine race shows 
that it exhibits a vast variety 
of color. Black, yellow, brown, 
reddish brown, black-spotted, 
and white cows give to a land- 
scape full of cattle a rich and 
varied character. Color has 
become a fixed character in 
many breeds ; as, for instance, 
the black and white of the Hol- 
stein, the black of the Angus 
and the Galloway, the red and 
white of the Ayrshire and the 
Hereford, the fawn and brown 
of the Jersey, and the yellow 
and brown of the Guernsey. 

Many cattle raisers prefer 
to have animals all of one color 
rather than of many colors and of many breeds. 
It is only by following fixed lines of breeding 
that the greatest success will be attained. To 
do this is neither difficult nor expensive, and 
is far more satisfactory than a practice of in- 
discriminate breeding, which is so common 
throughout the land. 

Cows, as well as bulls and oxen, usually have 
two hollow horns on their head, which form 




In Alabama 

their weapons of offense. The horns of certain 
breeds are strongly developed and very long ; 
others are without horns, and butt with their 



CATTLE 



21 I 




Good Draft Oxen 



heads in self-defense. These blows are some- animal will not only strike with his horns but 

times extremely powerful, and numerous acci- he will also toss his victim in the air, and if he 

dents have taught us the danger from bulls can get at him will use his horns, as a horse 

when excited to anger. At such times the does his hoofs, to bruise him. 




RUMIN.VTING 
Photo C. W. Keid 



212 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




where there was least movement during its life; 
for instance, the loins, the sides, and the por- 
tion of the back just above the tail. The parts 
of least value are about the head, neck, and 



legs. 



III. The Dairy Type 



Bull, Frexch Breed 



The milch cow should have a very soft, mellow 
skin and fine, silky hair. The head should be 
narrow and long, with great width between the 
eyes. This last-mentioned characteristic is an 
indication of great nervous force, an important 
quality for the heavy milker. The neck of a 
good dair)' cow is long and thin ; the shoulders 



If we glance at the e.xterior 
of the cow we shall see that 
just as the draft ox differs 
from the ox intended for 
slaughter so the milch cow 
differs greatly in appearance 
from the cow kept for the 
shambles. Generally the 
milkers are not fattened until 
later ; those for butchering 
have abundant fat upon their 
sides. The flesh ought to be 
solid and elastic, mellow and 
yet firm. If pressed upon, 
the mark of the pressure 
ought to disappear quickly. 
The tender flesh for meat 
will be found on those parts of the animal 





In Scotland 



Ax American Type 

are thin and lithe, and narrow at the top ; the 
back is open, thin, and tapering toward the tail; 
the hips are wide apart, and covered with but 
little meat. The good cow is also thin in the 
region of the thigh and flank, but very deep 
through the stomach girth, made so by long, open 
ribs. The udder is large, attached well forward 
on the abdomen and high behind. It should be 
full but not fleshy. The lacteal or milk veins 
ought also to be large, and extended considerably 
toward the front legs. 

Milch cattle, which were formerly judged only 
by their external appearance, are now required 
to fulfill demands of breeding based on careful 
and precise notes made from generation to 
generation and recorded in books of genealogy 



CATTLE 



21 



or in a herd rct^istry. These arc now kept b\- 
breeders' associations in all nations. In these 
books every bull and every cow that is registered 
has its number. Some associations also hr.ve 
records of good and bad qualities, of character- 
istic traits, and of changes occurring from time 
to time, which form a basis of schedule for the 
cattle ; all countries in our day follow this plan. 
These books are guarantees for the bu\er ; they 
have, moreover, a general interest for the public 
health and for the milk trade, and they furnish 
invaluable data for commerce. 





MlI.KI\(i Cows IX Fli.AXCE 
IV. BKKEn.S OF C.\TTLE 

There are a great number of breeds of cattle 
in different parts of the world, so many that we 
can mention but a few here, — the important ones 
that contribute primarily to our own cattle stock 
and that comprise the millions of herds scattered 
all over our land, on hillside and river bottom, on 
mountain and plain, on good lands and poor. 

Dutch cattle, which form with those of Fries- 
land and the shores of the North Sea a race apart, 
have a good reputation everywhere. For that 
reason we begin our short sur\'ey of races with 



.A Fine Dutch Bull 

them. The chief breeds are those of Fries- 
land, Groningen, and northern and south- 
ern Holland. 

The cattle of Fricsland have long bodies, 
the loins and shoulders well filled out. The 
udder of the cow is remarkable for size, 
and the production of milk is very great. 
The qualities of this breed are highly valued 
everywhere, and many of the cattle have 
been brought to our country, where to- 
day they are found in nearly every state. 
They are of large size, black and white in 
color, and popular because of their abun- 
dant milk supply. The genealogical book 
of Holstcin-FiiLsicrii cattle demantls the 
following characteristics : skin soft and 
la.\ ; head delicate and short ; large e\es, 
large nostrils, and drooping horns bent 
slightly forward ; chest broad and dccj) ; 




.\ WjNNHH IN ThKRF.-Yk.AK-Oi.I) C'l A;- 
Sr.VKK COCNTV F.MK 



214 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



sides long and gently rounded ; back straight, 
and if possible a broad and level rump ; mouth 
wide ; tail long, covered with fine hairs ; flanks 



being the best of the country, although not 
watered by many rivers. The color of this breed 
is usually black with some white mingled in it- 




Team of Four Oxen in the Nivernais 



deep and full, with a capacious flexible udder 
and large milk veins. 

The Groningen cow is usually black, and is 
good either for milking or for butchering. She 
is small, with a broad forehead, very large 
crupper, and long legs. 

The cattle of northern and soutJiern Holland 
are like those of Friesland, but rounder in body 



These cattle and those from Friesland compose 
the Holstein-Friesian race of our country. 

Dutch cows on sandy soils are small, angular 
in shape, and poor milkers. In this they yield 
to the Enghsh breeds, especially to that of the 
Jersey, which is well known and exported the 
world over. After the Jersey comes the Guern- 
sey, a breed not so widely distributed in the 




In Alabama 



and thus more inclined to be meaty. Neverthe- 
less their production of milk is abundant, the 
meadows of Holland, both north and south. 



United States, but still well known and popular, 
and the Kerry of Ireland. So far but few herds 
of Kerry cattle exist on this side of the water. 



CATTLE 



21 



Our magniticcnt breeds of 
Jersey an:l Guernsey cattle are 
the direct descendants of cattle 
imported from the Channel 
islands or of those bred in this 
country. 

The business of importing- 
cattle of these and other breeds 
has been an important one in 
years past, and is not incon- 
siderable at the present time. 

The Guernsey is slightly 
larger than the Jersey and 
perhaps a little more robust. 
Both give very rich milk, but 
not so much as the Holstein-Friesian or the Ajr- 
s/iirc, the imported cow from Scotland. This 
last-named breed is hardy and robust — ideal 
in this respect. In size 
she ranks between the 
Jersey and the Holstein. 
Being red or white, or a 
mixture of the two, the 
Ayrshire is not only at- 
tractive and popular 
because of her form and 
color but also because of 
her high merits as a pro- 
ducer of milk and cheese. 

Another foreign breed 
that hasattracted the 
American farmer is the 

Bnni'tt Swiss of Switzerland. These are mouse- 
colored, rugged animals ; some are good milk- 
ers, but many are indifferent when compared 





Groningex Bull 




CoKM-.i.i.A .X.WI I, Cr.r.i.iiUATi'.i) Di'Ttii Mii/ii Cow 



Goon Di'Ti II I'Asi'ruAdc 

with the heavy-milking Molsteins or abvmdant 
butter-making Jerseys or Guernseys. 

We should not be doing justice to the Devon 
cow were we to omit her 
from this list. She came 
early to our land from 
England and for a century 
has been a loyal helper 
in tlie building up of this 
country. Till recent years 
this breed took the place 
of horses on many farms : 
cleared the land and 
plowed it; hauled the 
trees over fields of snow 
and rough roads that lum- 
ber might be sawed ; and 
not content with doing this rough labor the 
Devon has been also an admirable milch cow. 
With the coming of the improved special breeds, 
however, the Devon has been displaced for 
both milk and beef, and unless her friends 
direct her into one of these channels, her race 
will soon be run ; but it will be the ending of 
a glorious race, worthy of the magnificent ani- 
mal the Devon has been. 

TIic DutcJi-bcltcd coivs belong to the Hol- 
stein-Friesian class, but are inferior to the 
parent stock. The belt of white around her 
body gives an attractive appearance, but adds 
nothing to her ability as a milk producer. As a 
competitor with our special breeds the Dutch- 
belted will alwavs be outclassed ; she must 



2l6 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Frii.slami Milch Cow 

depend upon the fancy of the breeder for 
popularity and for perpetuation. 

The leading beef breeds, as 
we call them in America, are 
the Shortliorn, the Hereford, 
the Angus, and the Galloway. 

The Shorthorn, also known 
as the Durham breed, received 
its first improvement from 
England, the country that has 
given the world so many im- 
proved breeds of farm animals. 
Among the early improvers of 
this breed are the Colling 
Brothers of Ketton, who be- 
gan their work of improve- 
ment more than a century 
ago ; Thomas Bates, a faithful 
disciple of the Colling 
Brothers, who founded the 
famous Princess, Duchess, 
and Oxford families ; Richard Booth, who to- 
gether with his sons did so much to lengthen 



the hind quarter, to fill up the fore flank, and 
to secure greater depth of flesh, thus increasing 
the value of the carcass ; and Amos Cruik- 
shank, the father of Scotch Shorthorns, who has 
given us a family of Shorthorns compact and 
blocky in build, easily fattened, and of superior 
meat when placed on the block. 

Prior to 1800 few Shorthorns were imported 
to this country ; since that date many thousands 
have been brought over from their native land. 

Nearly a million animals of this breed have 
already been registered by the American 
Shorthorn Association. 





Head of Highland Bull "Sir Audrey" 



Dutch Calves 

Shorthorns have been unquestionably the 
most popular breed of cattle during the past 
century in our country and in many other 
lands as well. They are easily at home under 
most conditions, are of good size, fatten 
readily, and produce meat that is tender, juicy, 
and nutritious. 

The Hereford is a descendant of one of 
the aboriginal breeds of Great Britain, and as 
a distinct breed has a long lineage. It is some- 
times called the "White-faced" breed because 
of this color characteristic. Its presence to-day 
is an indication of purity of blood. 

The most noted of the early improvers of 
this breed was Benjamin Franklin, who died in 
1790. Like Bakewell, Tompkins improved 



CATTLE 



217 



his animals throu<;h the most careful selection 
of his breeding stock. 

The first authentic importation of llcrcfords 
into this country was made by Henry Clay in 
1 8 17. Since that time animals of this breed have 
been distributed 
throughout this and 
other countries. The 
Hereford is a good 
"rustler," and has 
long been popular 
on the plains and in 
the Southwest. His 
feeding qualities are 
good, as is also his flesh when butchered. 

The Aberdeen Angus has only lately been 
brought from Scotland, but he has already 
become a rival of other beef herds, finding 
his greatest popularity throughout the middle 
western states ; at the present time the South 
and Southwest are developing many herds of 
this justly popular breed. In size average 
individuals follow closely the Shorthorns and 
Herefords ; they mature rather early also, a 




(1k.\M)-Cii.\.\ii'ion Hi:i 



they are poor milkers, but as they are bred 
only for beef this is as it shoukl be. 

The Galloioay is also black and hornless 
and a \ery typical beef animal. He comes 
from Scotland, where he was always a good 
rustler and hustler 
for food. He is our 
best breed for the 
open plains and 
the ranges. When 
slaughtered his 
meat ranks first in 
competition with 
that of an)' breed, 
and always commands the highest price on 
English and American markets. 

V. The Beef Type 
The beef cow is sc[uare in shajje, full and 
broad over the back and loins, and possesses 
depth and quality, especially in these regions. 
The hips are evenly fleshed, the legs full and 
thick, the under line parallel with the straight 
back. The neck is full and short. The eye 




C|uality much desired in beef animals ; they 
are fair grazers, though probably not C|uite 
so good as the Hereford, and as meat pro- 
ducers they excel both the Shorthorn and the 
Hereford. 

All Anguses are black in color and hornless, 
block)' in shape, and compact with short legs ; 



should be bright, the face short, the bones of 
fine texture, tlie skin soft and pliable, and the 
flesh mellow, elastic, and rich in c|uality. 

The fact that it is not ])ossihle for every 
farmer to possess pure-bred cattle is no reason 
why he should not imi^rove the stock he has. 
He can do this by securing pure-bred sires 



2l8 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Hornless Cattle 



that possess the characteristics desired. Scrub 
stock can be quicl<ly improved by the contin- 
uous use of good sires. It is never wise to 
use grade or cross-bred sires, since they do 
not possess stable characteristics. 

iVIoreover, it is possible for every farmer to 
determine exactly the producing power of his 



dairy cows. When cows are milked the milk 
should be weighed and a record kept of it. If 
this is done it will be found that some cows 
produce as much as one thousand gallons or 
more, while others produce not more than 
one half or even one fourth that quantity. If 
a farmer will kill or sell his poor cows and 




In Ohio 



CATTLE 



219 



keep his best ones, he will in a short while In her lifetime she provides man with one of 

have a herd of only heav\- milkers. his chief and best articles of food, — milk ; antl 

Young calves that are to be fattened should after her death she supplies him with more 

be fed onl\' such food as will i>roduce rapid, meat than an)' other animal. But that is not 

thrifty growth, so that they may be gotten in all ! The skins of cows and o.xen are used for 

readiness for the market at as early an age as many purposes, and form a very considerable 

possible. Young dairy animals may be fed any article of commerce, to which they contribute 



^-. J^^ 








^?ss 


1^^^ 








-m 




wKKHI^i, 


_ 




-Tl— 




ft!€.=?=^i 






WHSflgEV 






^^Rp^^<^^^^ WV 








^'^.■:-'''^:'r-TiSI^ 


^KKW^ 


. 


— • ■ "S. 


^:,/::"^' 


<'.'■ 



LONG-HOKNEU Enoi.ish Bullocks 
I'hoto C. W. Keid 



food that insures thrifty growth, but foods of 
a coarse nature are particularly good, espe- 
cially such kinds as clover, alfalfa, and cowpea 
hay ; pasture grasses, corn ensilage, and roots, 
being succulent and juicy, are also excellent. 

As we ha\-e already remarked, the cow has 
many claims to be considered a domestic ani- 



calf-skin bindings. The intestines, blood, and 
fat, not being eatable, are utilized in tech- 
nical manufactures, and the horns, after pro- 
ducing trumjiets for war and cups for con\i\ial 
friendship, serve to make a variet\' of " art 
objects." The bunes, ground and ]irepared, 
are transformed into fertilizers, antl are also 



mal, though from a point of view different bought by the manufacturers of glue and 
from those of the dog, the horse, or the hen. gelatine. 



IX 

THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



I. In Ancient Times 

When did poultry become domestic animals ? 
Probably before they were brought from Asia. 
At all events it is from Asia, and especially from 
her vast plains — which still hide so many of 
Nature's secrets — that our gallinaceous tribes 
have come. The dog and the cock were, 
according to Zoro- 
aster, sacred ani- 
mals, — one as the 
guardian of the 
house and hearth, 
the other as the 
herald of the dawn 
and thus the symbol 
of light and the sun. 
Consequently we 
find Idomeneus and 
Pasiphae, descend- 
ants of the Sun, 
bearing the image of 
a cock upon their 
shields. In later 
times the cock has 
remained the symbol 
of vigilance and of ^^^ 

knowledge. How 

many interpretations have been given of its 
crow ! It is said to indicate the place of buried 
treasure. Black cocks are in communion with 
the Evil Spirit ; they addle eggs, they predict 
ill luck, they tell people's fortunes by pecking 
grain, with which they form letters and words 
— an art that was called alectryomancy, in 
honor of one of the three Furies, who presided 
over the performance. To this day in Bohemia 
and Silesia the peasants tie a black cock to 
a tree, round which they dance ; and if a mar- 
riage is contracted during Lent they solemnly 
tie a cock in a chair, put a red cap on its head, 
decapitate it, and eat it to the strains of funereal 




music. In Germany the cock is actually a 
weathercock on the steeples of Catholic 
churches ; whereas that on the Lutheran 
steeples is a swan. 

The cock must have appeared in Greece 
about the middle of the second century B.C., 
reaching other parts of Europe in the next 
century, but not be- 
fore. Saint Peter 
had good cause to 
know of it in the 
first century a.d. ; 
and in the fourth 
century the monas- 
teries began to apply 
themselves gener- 
ally to the breeding 
of poultry. Bishop 
Martin sent great 
numbers from Italy 
into France and Ger- 
many, where, after a 
while, the peasantry 
were allowed to pay 
their .taxes in poul- 

:ocK ^^y ^^'^ ^SSS, a fact 

which greatly 
favored the propagation of fowls. 

II. Poultry in Europe and in America 
It was inevitable that the raising of poultry 
should excite the interest of farmers through- 
out Europe. Countries like France, Belgium, 
and Denmark have from this source within a 
few years annually increased the national 
wealth by several millions. Italy, Hungary, 
and Russia are the countries that supply Eng- 
land, France, Germany, Belgium, and the 
Netherlands with what they lack. If we read 
statistics we are amazed at the enormous quan- 
tity of eggs sent from the East to the West ; 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIHES 



221 



it amounts in \alue to many millions 
of dollars. 

Within a generation the raising 
of poultry in European countries has 
hail an extraordinary impetus. Not 
content with the breeds they pos- 
sessed, energetic breeders set them- 
selves to improve and perfect them. 
A wholly new direction has been 
given to the science of breeding. It 
is not yet all it should be, but im- 
provements are being made daily. 
Each European country possesses its 
own species — the one most suitable 
to its climate and wants. Russia has 
the Pultava fowl ; Italy the Italian ; 
France the Houdans, the Favanelles, 
the Creve-Coeurs, etc. ; Belgium the 
Mechlin Coucous, the Braeckels, 
etc. ; Germany the Ramels bohen, 
the fowls of eastern Friesland, etc. ; 
and the Netherlands their breed with 
hooded heads and white topknots. 
America, the enterprising land far 
excellence, has produced something 
special in this domain, which excites 
admiration for those who have advanced so far, 
thanks to constant perseverance. The W\an- 
dottesand the Plymouth Rocks are the national 
fowls of America. They have been sent to 
Europe, where they do honor to their reputa- 
tion by occupying an important place among 
Continental poultry. What Americans have 





Till-: F.\M11.V CoMl'I.KTK 



Tin: Mk>. Hhn 

claimed for these ]M-oducts of their cross breed- 
ing has been \'enhed. The endeaxor has been 
to raise fowls which should not only be prolific 
in laying eggs, but should also be excellent for 
eating; and we have succeeded. Our iioultry 
breeders may feel proud that their protluct has 
been recei\'ed with o]3en arms across the ocean, 
and we may doubtless regard these 
breeds as the races of the future. 

At the French and Belgian poul- 
try shows the native breeds still form 
the chief section ; but in all the great 
competitions Wyandottes, Plymouth 
Rocks, Leghorns, Minorcas, Dutch 
fowls, Orpingtons, and Brahmas are 
conspicuous for their beauty and 
their usefulness. Most persons who 
kee]! poultry do so for the ]irofit to 
be made thereby. Nevertheless, be- 
sides that profit, they ought to 
desire also to have .something hand- 
some. Unforlunateh, we still see in 



222 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




White Wvaxdottf. Cock 



to succeed. Those who desire to 
take up this business seriously should 
learn practically many things that are 
not found in books, but a knowledge 
of which is absolutely essential. We 
shall try to show how, and in what 
way, this industry may be made 
profitable ; and if, on certain points, 
we enter upon theory, the reader 
should endeavor to verify for him- 
self the results to be obtained. 

The first condition for making a 
poultry yard lucrative is to do the 
work yourself, and not be afraid of 
soiling your hands. In doing every- 
thing yourself you acquire the rou- 
tine, and if later you take a helper, 
you will then know how to direct 
him. For if we have no idea ourselves of the 
true methods of breeding-, what can come of it .' 



farmyards and villages a mixture of all breeds 

and all colors. We must hope that the farmer 

will end by deciding to raise but one breed The raising of poultry may be profitable, even 

and one color. 



III. Breeding of Poultry 

The manner in which poultry is bred and 
raised in many regions leaves much to be 
desired. Sometimes it is undertaken after 
reading a book on the subject, in which marvels 
are promised as a result. That is not the way 





'Ursus ' 



Plymouth Rock Cock 

largely profitable, but only at the cost of our 
■personal care and labor. The first thing to be 
done is to procure a good breed. Persons 
ignorant of the business look for advertise- 
ments in poultry journals, which are often 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



22'^ 



useless or worse than useless. Not onl)' farms can be j;ained from the fact Uiat one merchant 
but also whole villages have been depopulated of Aix-la-Chapelle receives weekly, during the 
of poultry by the introduction in this way of summer season, twent)' thousand pullets thus 
diseased fowls. The damage thus caused in 
Belgium, Germany, and Holland, for instance, 
has amounted at times to millions of dollars, 
with the result that many persons, after being 
duped in this wa\', ha\e abandoned the trade. 
The peasantry of Ital)' and Hungary are 
largely occupied in the raising of poultr\ . On 
the vast plains of those countries the birds 
grow t|uickl\' and easih', and find all their 
stomachs need. Merchants buy the pullets for 




a trifle (five cents each), a price on which the 
Italian peasant finds that he makes a profit. 
These merchants have so-called poult r\- _\ards 
where the little creatures are piled up pell- 
mell. Fresh from the heaths and plains where 
they enjoyed full liberty, what wonder if they 
contract diseases in these confined quarters, 
where they are fed on food to which they are 
unaccustomed ! Here, however, they remain till 
orders come from other countries, to which they 
are then dispatched in baskets, each basket con- 
taining fifty birds. The journey usually lasts 
from three to four days, and the condition in 
which the poor things arrive may be imagined. 
An idea of the enormous trade that Italy 
carries on with the northern countries of Europe 




Bl.ack Cochin-China Cock 

packed. There are even special trains for the 
transportation of poultry and eggs. A few 
weeks after the birds arrive at their desti- 
nation disease shows itself, and if haste is 
not made to separate the healthy from the 
unhealthy fowls, a whole poultry yard will be 
infected in a few days. 

Those who wish to devote themselves to 
poultry raising should make deliberate choice 




as to the external appearance of the breed 
they prefer. But a choice once made should 



224 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



be kept to. Then the breeder must apply 
himself to improve the species, bearing in 
mind that all hens will not lay from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred and eighty 
eggs, as the advertisers endeavor to make us 
think, and also that out of every five hundred 
eggs half will produce cocks. On large poultry 



young and old. It is composed of shell, skin, 
white of egg, and yolk, the latter a fatty, yellow 
substance. As human food an egg does not 
contain (as often stated) as much nourishment 
as half a pound of meat ; it would take six or 
seven eggs for that. The white contains eighty- 
five per cent of water, the yolk fifty-one per 




Plymouth Rocks 



farms where different breeds are kept it is 
usual to divide their yard with wire netting, 
giving to each species a run of its own. 

Hens are raised for their eggs. The egg 
that the fowl produces, from which a fowl 
issues in turn, is, next to milk, man's best 
food, the- most strengthening, the purest, the 
most unadulterable, the most healthful for 



cent of water and thirty-one per cent of fat. 
A hen's egg, analyzed chemically, contains in 
addition thirteen per cent of albumen, twelve 
per cent of fat, and no hydrate of carbon, 
„which sufficiently proves that it could never 
serve exclusively for human food. 

The shell is composed of phosphoric acid, 
chalk, iron, sulphur, and gluten. It is proper 



THH GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



to take account of these elements in feeilini. 



hens. If occasionally eggs are found without 



Exportation from Russia is becoming very 
active of late, and this country is coming to 
shells, it is a proof that the food was unsuit- be a formidable rival of Denmark in the Eng- 
able or insufficient. The skin, which lies lish market. The Russian exportation of eggs 
beneath and against the shell, is 
composed of two extremely thin 
membranes, which are slightly se]>a- 
rated from each other at the top of 
the egg- In the space between is air 
with much acid in it, for the use of 
the chick, as it forms. It sometimes 
happens that there are two \olks. 
The white oi the egg is connected 
with the yolk by two threads, or con- 
duits, which conduct nourishment 
to the chick during the incubation 
period . 

A young hen will begin to lay 
when a year old. It is b\' that time 
provided by Nature with an ovary 
which contains the germs of no less 
than six hundred eggs. The hn ing 
diminishes after the fourth year, and 
is almost entirely finished by the 
sixth year ; the hen has then fulfilled her duty in 1901 amountetl in \-alue to 353,920,000 
to Nature. But this is not quick enough for rubles — in round numbers 5223,000,000, and 
breeders of the present daw Maste and hurry it increases every year. Russia is alread)' so 
prevail even here, and artificial culture has strong in this particular that it is on the point 
enormously increased the number of chickens of supplanting Italy and Austria in supplying 




.\ 15 k All MA Hl.N 



hatched daily and thus the 

production of eggs, the 

trade in which appears to 

be illimitable. In reading 

the statistics of different 

countries we are astounded 

at the enormous demand 

for this product, and the 

supply does not keep pace 

with the demand. In the 

Netherlands, for instance, 

that small country which 

is by no means unsuited 

for the production of eggs, 

the deficit last year was 

seventy million. Denmark may serve as a model informed as to the best methods of managing 

to the lesser countries in the raising of chickens, the inhabitants of their poultry yards. In the 

It exports yearly about four million dollars' first place, they ought to know that hens when 

worth ; and the husbandmen profit by it. laying and brooding should, as far as possible, 




'Rita," a Braf.kf.i. Pri.i.EX Pkizk 

WlNNKU 



other countries. 

IV. L.wixr, ,\ND 
Broodint, 

1 1 goes without saying 
that many of those who 
keep fowls have no inten- 
tion of venturing upon the 
great markets of the world. 
So long as they raise eggs 
and chickens for their own 
consumption they are 
satisfied. Yet these small 
breeders and owners of 
poultry ought to be well 



226 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



be left at liberty ; then, that they must be fed, 
in addition to grain, with large quantities of 
vegetable and animal food, such as meat scraps. 




A Mechlin Coucou Hen 

insects and worms, etc. Besides these things 
they need grit and lime, but egg shells should 
not be given them, a practice which will teach 
the hen to peck at and so break her eggs. Vege- 
table food serves to prevent constipation, and 
lime goes to form and strengthen the bones. 

Hens, like dogs, should never be allowed to 
leave half their meal. It should all be eaten 




White Mechlin Cock 

with pleasure. They are usually fed two or 

three tirnes daily ; the last meal should be 

given just before they go to their perch. It 



is well to give grain at this meal, because that 
needs a certain time to pass into the stomach. 
In winter a good meal can be made of hot 
water and mashed potatoes, or bran mash 
served warm ; above all, it is important to see 
that no ice-cold drinking water can be reached. 
It must never be forgotten that variety of food 
keeps poultry in good health, and that experi- 
ence will best teach what will induce hens to 
lay well under local circumstances. 

Usually hens lay eggs for several days 
together and then rest for a day. If well fed 




A Mechlin Coucou Cock 

they begin to lay in February and cease in 
the autumn, when they begin to molt. Of 
course this depends somewhat on the hen- 
house and the condition in which they are 
kept. Their house should be extremely clean, 
cleanliness being of great importance to them ; 
so much so that they will not lay their eggs 
in a dirty henhouse infested with vermin, but 
will go elsewhere for a nest. Nearly all hens 
will make known by a peculiar cry, well under- 
stood by those who know it, when they have 
laid an egg. If they stay on the egg and are 
unwilling to be driven away from it, it is a 
sign that they want to sit, to the great alarm 
of some people, who desire eggs to eat, and 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



227 



not a "sitting hen." A basket or a pail 
turned upside down over the egg will teacli 
the hen that she is not to follow her instinct 
When it is desired to raise chickens leave 
the mother hen quietly and without fear 
upon her eggs, especially in the spring of 
the year. She will utter peculiar cries, and 
this is the time to put her in a dark, quiet, 
isolated place. The eggs left under her 
should never become chilled ; consequentl) 
the time given to feed her or to clean the 
nest should never exceed ten minutes. It 
is well to give her, now and then, a bath of 
hot dust, which serves to free her of vermin. 
After sitting on the eggs for twent\-onc 
days the hen has fulfilled the first part of her 
maternal duties, and the chicks make their 
appearance. They should be kept isolated 
with their mother for several days. Not till 
her chicks are well started will she begin 
to lay again. 

V. Artifici.\l Inxubation 
When it is necessar)- to hatch on a large 
scale as rapidly and as economically as pos- 
sible, the system is very different. To 
realize good profits recourse must be had 
to an incubator. 

Artificial incubation is not a new thing. 
It was applied on a large scale by the ancient 
Egyptians, although, it has been practiced in 
Europe and America for only thirty years. 
Though at first these machines were very 
defective and difficult to work, they have been 
so perfected as to be considered in these days 
indispensable. Much has been written for and 





MoTHKK Ili:N Willi 1.1 1 



Incub.xtino Uox 

against them, but the resvilts obtained from 
properl}- constructed incubators pro\e that 
they are instruments of great utility. With 
these machines we are no longer dependent 
on climate or weather. Prejudice against them 
is beginning, little by little, to disappear, and 
the number manufactured can scarcely be 
estimated, especially in this country, 
which in 1902 exported three hun- 
dred thousand to other countries. 
Poultry raisers early saw the advan- 
tages of incubators over hens, and 
the\- quickly discarded Nature for 
the new method of artificial hatch- 
ing ; to them the honor of improving 
these machines in recent years is 
due. The apparatus is now regarded 
as a necessary object which ought 
to be in all farm and poultry yards 



228 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



as much as any other modern instrument of 
husbandry. The fact that Europe, especially 
the Netherlands, is importing, for the im- 
provement of its breeds, American fowls, 
— the Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks, etc., — 
proves that poultry incubated artificially does 
not yield in any manner to poultry hatched 
naturally. Where shall we find, except in the 
United States, hens able to hatch, on an aver- 
age, one hundred and eighty eggs a year .? Do 



eggs the hen will give us fifty chickens, while 
the machine will give from eighty to ninety. 
Complaints, however, are often made of in- 
ferior machines, and justly. Persons are led to 
buy incubators without any knowledge of their 
value, and are often deceived. But what infer- 
ence can be drawn from that .■" Nevertheless 
those who have thus been victimized remain 
ever after the adversaries of artificial incu- 
bation. If they had been better informed 




Incubators 



the large, solid Wyandotte and Plymouth Rock 
hens have a sickly exhausted air ? No, on the 
contrary they are robust animals, capable of 
resisting the effects of all climates. 

We base these remarks on our own experi- 
ence, which leads us to declare conscientiously 
that neither natural nor artificial incubation has 
any distinct or special influence under normal 
circumstances. With eggs well fertilized a 
good hen will produce good chickens. A good 
machine, well managed, will give the same and 
even better results, for out of one hundred 



or had consulted experienced breeders, they 
could have obtained good results and been 
partisans, not adversaries, of this useful inven- 
tion, without which the raising of poultry could 
never have attained its present development. 
We could never in this country have gone so 
far in raising poultry if we had not made use 
of the artificial incubator. 

A good incubator having been purchased, 
the next thing is to find a suitable place for 
it. This should be airy, but sheltered from 
currents of air, and the temperature should be 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



229 



as uniform as possible. Thus a cellar, an un- 
used room, or a stable are all suitable. Where 
the raising of poultry is done on a large scale 
special cellars are built. Good ventilation is 
necessary ; the place should never be damp, 
nor should vegetables in a state of putrefac- 
tion be kept in it. Nevertheless, do not 
choose a cellar exposed to drafts, for nothing 
is more injurious when the eggs are turned 
over. The temperature should never gcj 
below 100° F., nor above 105°. If the tem- 
perature falls below 100° the eggs will be 
chilled when turned, and if removed into 
another room they will be cxj^osed to a 
current of air. In no case should the incu- 
bator be placed either near a stove or near 
an open window. 

When the incubator comes from the deal- 
ers and is unpacked and fixed according to 
the directions sent with it, the lamp being 
fixed and the regulator set up, the next thing 
to be done is to place it in a perfectly hori- 
zontal position, and then tf) study and com- 
prehend its arrangement and subdi\isions. If 
we open the door that closes the hatching 
chamber, we see that the interior is separated 
into two divisions by a horizontal jxartition, 
which can be removed in several pieces. In 
these drawers, as they are called, the eggs are 
placed, and beneath them 
is the drying compartment 
for the chicks. These 
drawers are movable, and 
are easily opened when the 
eggs have to be turned. 
They do not come close to 
the door, and through the 
space thus left the chicks 
drop easily into the drying 
place after leaving the 
shells. 

In constructing the in- 
cubator the aim has been 
to put the eggs under the 
same conditions as obtain 
under the mother's brooding wings. In the 
latter case the egg takes the temperature of 



It would ha\e been easy enough, by the help of 
thick partitions, to keep up a minimum of heat 
and an even temperature, but in that case the 
eggs would have been deprived of necessary 





Incui'.ator with Ciiuks Oni: Mour Old 

ventilation, which invokes the question of life 
or death to the chicks. The whole secret of 
incubation is to maintain around well-fertilized 
eggs an e\-en tempcratui-c and a regular circu- 
lation of sufficient fresh air. I""or this purpose 
we find an opening made beneath the drum 
which incloses the lamp. 
Through this opening the 
outside air passes around 
the lighted lamp and enters 
the incubating compart- 
ments. 

The ideal temperature 
for those machines is 100° 
F. at the beginning of the 
incubation, rising gradu- 
ally to 103° V. 

And now what are the 
principal points to be ob- 
served while the incubator 
is ijerforming its functions.' 
rirst, the regular renewal 
of fresh air and the proper quantity of atmos- 
pheric moisture, and next, the regular turning 



the hen, and the external air reaches it freely, over of the eggs. Ventilation and moisture 



230 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



are supplied in proper quantities if the macliine 
is well situated. As to this, experience is 
better than advice. If the hatching takes place 




A Celebrated Specimen of the 
Mechlin Breed 

during great heat, it is well to put a wet 
sponge or a cupful of water in the drum ; if 
this is not done, the air in the egg chambers 
is liable to be too dry, so that the chicks at the 
moment of being hatched may remain attached 
to the membrane. 

Punctuality more than science is required 
for cooling and turning the eggs. The turn- 
ing should be done regularly twice a day, 




Dutch Hex, Goudpel Breed 

from the second to the eighteenth day. The 
cooling and ventilation of the eggs require 
practice. The temperature should never be 



allowed to fall below 75°, and the thermom- 
eter must be kept in the drawer. This cooling 
should be done gradually, beginning, say, on 
the fourth day. It may last from four to five 
minutes, increasing daily until at the end of 
ten days it lasts from ten to twenty minutes. 
The machine remains closed during all the rest 
of the time. The lamp should be thoroughly 
cleaned after each incubation. 

When the eggs have been hatching five or 
six days they must be examined. Those that 




Cock of Fixe Stature 

are not fertile should be removed and kept to 
feed the chicks later. The proper way to tell 
a fertile egg is to take it between the thumb 
and forefinger and hold it before a strong 
light. If it is perfectly clear within, it is not 
fertile ; if, on the contrary, a little black speck 
with red fines is seen to float inside of it, look- 
ing more or less like a spider in its web, it is 
certain to be fertile. The same examination 
should be made on the fourteenth day. 

If persons desire to hatch successfully, they 
must take fresh egsfs never more than seven 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



231 



or eight clays old. The artificial incubator has 
no merit in itself ; it is only of value so far as 
it exercises on the egg precisely the same in- 
fluence as the mother hen. 
The hen is a live machine ; 
the machine is an artificial 
hen. The results of the 
incubation depend entirely 
on the eggs to be hatched. 
If they are good, artificial 
incubation will give excel- 
lent results. 

VI. The Artifici.\l 
R.AisiNG OF Chickens 

Having now explained 
machine incubation, a little 
advice may facilitate the 
management of the artifi- 
cial mother. It is not a very difficult matter. 
During the first few days the machine itself 
is the mother. It should not be opened during 
that time, as all the chickens need is warmth. 
It is necessary only to maintain the tem]3era- 
ture at 92° with the necessary ventilation. 
Before the chicks come out of 
the machine care must be 
taken to diminish the tempera- 
ture gradually day by day. 
After they come out it is well 
to have rather more warmth 
by day than by night, because 
the little creatures need it 
after running in the outer air. 
If they are found dispersed 
about in the incubator, it is a 
sign that they are comfortable ; 
if, on the contrary, they huddle 
together, the heat should be 
raised a little ; but if they take 
refuge in the corners, it is a sure 
sign that they are too warm. 

During the first six days the 
chicks should be fed in the in- 
cubator ; after that, outside of 
it, for by that time they are able to take care 
of themselves. If they move with difficulty, 
they will complain and keej) stationar)-. This 




A Sn.\'ER Br.akkel Hen 



immobility on the cold ground of ten gives them 
rheumatism, and it should be prevented. 

To those who raise but few chickens these 
artificial motlurs, which 
can be kept out of doors, 
are recommended as very 
serviceable, because they 
can not only be moved 
from ])lac'e to jilace but 
they also serve to ])rotect 
the chickens from cats, 
rats, weasels, etc. 

The first week the food 
of the chicks should be 
bread crumbs mixed with 
the infertile eggs taken 
from the incubator ; they 
should also have oats or 
barley ground in little mills 
(made expressly for this purpose) and mixed 
with a small allowance of milk. The second 
week it is well to give them wheat or other 
grain ground in the same \va\-, l(.) vary the food, 
after which they may be allowed to run at 
large within the inclosure, where they will find 




Ve.au-Oi.o I'ri.i.F.TS 

both grass and insects. As soon as thev are 
left completely at liberty they will roam in all 
directions after worms and beetles ; but if their 



232 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



food is given them at regular hours, they will 
run to it punctually from all sides. Whatever 
their food is, it should be eaten up immediately, 
so that nothing be left. It should be a fixed 
rule never to overfeed them. More chickens 
die from eating too much than from eating too 
little. They ought to be taught while young 
not to gorge themselves ; at the same time, 
however, they should be fed often. 

Their drinking water should be pure and 
cool, and their coops ought to be cleaned every 
day. Sand and gravel must be 
within easy reac 
While the coops are 
being cleaned 
the chicks 
should be 
exam 
i n e d 
to see 
if they 
have 
any 
vermin. 
If they 
have, the 
coops must 
be washed 
out with som 
one of the disinfect 
ants sold for that purpose. 
If vermin is found on the chicks a few 
drops of kerosene should be rubbed in 
under their wings, for many of them perish 
from lice, while the cause is attributed to other 
things. Certainly fifty per cent die in this way. 
In short, if healthy and vigorous chickens are 
desired, two special points must be attended 
to, namely, feeding (but not overfeeding) at 
regular hours, and the frequent cleansing of 
their abodes. 



VII. Inclosuees and Poultry Yards 

To establish a fine inclosure space is neces- 
sary. The first thing to be done is to surround 
with a wire trellis the whole space devoted 
to this purpose, which again is divided into 




The First Egg 



three or more parts by similar trellises. The 
first division is the place where the chicks are 
to be raised ; the second is for the hens whose 
eggs are taken for the incubator ; the third is 
for the hens who brood upon their own nests. 
The division for the chicks should be subdivided 
into spaces about ten feet wide by seventy-five 
feet long, in each of which one hundred chicks 
are allowed to run. When they are six weeks 
old this space should be doubled. The second 
division, suitable for a cock and ten hens, should 
be sixteen feet wide and from 
hundred and fifty to 
two hundred feet 
long. Chopped 
straw should 
be strewn 
in this 
inclo- 
sure 
with 
grain 
scat- 
tered 
through 
it to com- 
1 the birds 
to seek their 
own food. They 
will soon eat up what 
nearest to their coop 
or house. It is proper every day or 
two to spade up a corner of this 
inclosure so that the birds may grub for 
worms and other animal food, but it is essen- 
tial that much of the inclosure be left in 
grass, which is indispensable in large poultry 
yards. 

The third division, reserved for the pro- 
duction of chicks from the nests, should be 
a large field with sheds or henhouses, each 
able to accommodate from fifty to sixty hens. 
These henhouses should be about twelve 
feet wide and thirty feet long, made entirely 
of wood. 

Persons who have no such space as the above 
at their command, the inhabitants of towns, for 
instance, can still enjoy the luxury of raising 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



233 



their own chickens, i)ro\ided they ^ive them 
the same food and turf that they have in the 
country. It is not necessary that the poultry 
yards should be so large. The space, however, 
must have sun, and must be covered first with 
ashes and then with straw and trrain to force 



VIII. Princip.m. Hkeeds 
The Wyandottcs, which to-day are the most 
in vogue, and which were bred originally in 
America, have spread rapidly over the whole 
of Europe. They are of various colors, the 
most desirable being white ; then come the 




A DiviDi-.i) Hkn V.M<n 



the birds to take exercise. When city fowls 
do not get e.xercise enough they often take to 
pecking their eggs or plucking out their own 
feathers. It is needless to say that these 
poultry houses and \ards must be kept espe- 
cially clean to ward off diseases, which are 
more to be feared in the city than in the 
country. 



silvery, the golden, the speckled, the black, 
anil the partridge colored. It is an excellent 
breed, as good for its eggs as for its flesh, 
and a particularly good layer in winter. The 
pullets raised in the spring will lay all winter. 
The eggs are a brownish yellow, sometimes 
pink, and are small but numerous. The hens 
are the best of layers ; those which lay annually 



234 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 









jH 




1 


^^^^^^H^' 


'^BnBHB 


■^^ — "^ 


.^^1 


^Pl. . li 


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y.— ^-sj 


^^^^^^B^^"" 


^ ■ ':W 


AMU 


• • 



Poultry Yard 



from one hundred and fifty to a hundred and 
eighty eggs are by no means rare. The weight 
of the cock is from seven to nine pounds, that of 
the hen from six to seven. They are very hardy 
in cold weather, and their crests and combs 
never freeze, as those of 
other breeds do frequently. 
Always busy in seeking 
food, they are gentle by 
nature and never run away 
timidly when approached. 

The Langslians are also 
fine, large fowls, much 
more esteemed in England 
than here, and often found 
in other countries. For- 
merly they were black only, 
but now we see white and 
slate colored at the poultry 
shows. In England, Amer- 
ica, Holland, Belgium, and 
France they have feathered 




White Wv.andotte Hen 



feet, whereas in Austria and Germany bare feet 
prevail. It is one of the heaviest breeds known. 
A cock weighs about ten pounds, a hen eight. 
They generally lay well ; the eggs are yellow, 
and are of the usual size. Their white flesh is 
much esteemed, and they 
are very easy to fatten. 

The Houdati is the best 
known French breed raised 
in the United States. 
Nothing but good can be 
said of it ; it has found ad- 
mirers the world over. 
These fowls come from the 
neighborhood of the town 
of Houdan. They may be 
classed among the nesting 
fowls as well as among the 
decorative or "luxury" 
birds. They must be kept 
from dampness. When it 
rains, for instance, they 



Till". GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



235 




lhc\- have two little horns, which f^ive them a 
comical appearance. The usual color is black, 
although sometimes steel blue occurs, but the 
latter is rarely seen at shows. The hens of 
ihis breed are excellent la\'ers. The cnck 



Sii.\i;k-I'i;.ncii.ki) W'v.wdoiti; I1i:n 

should not be allowed outside the henhouse, 
because their enormous toj-jknots retain so much 
water that diseases are sure to result. It is a 
very handsome fowl, with an alert air, black with 
white points, and its head adorned with a mag- 
nificent tuft, or topknot. They lay a great many 
large eggs, and furnish excellent roasts, which 
are much in demand at hotels and restaurants. 
The La Flccltc breed, also French, yields in 
a way to the Houdans. Instead of a topknot 




SlI.VKK-PliNCILEU WVANDOTTIC C(;CK 

weighs about eight kilograms and the hen 
about six or seven ; thus the\' may be classed 
among the medium-sized breeds. The flesh is 
white, like that of all French fowls. 

The Favcrollc, also of French origin, has a 
topknot, and a little above the beak two small 




236 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



horns protrude. It is a very good breed, hardy Plymouth Rocks. 1 hey possess the same qual- 
and proof against dampness. These birds are ities, and differ only in the legs, which are red, 
useful as well as decorative ; they are hand- and in the flesh, which is white in the former, 
some, and good layers. The chicks grow whereas that of the buff Plymouth Rocks is 
rapidly and are much in favor » . yellowish. Also the latter are 

with dealers, who buy them \MK ^ Viitie taller in the legs, and 

small to fatten. JJ^V slimmer, the Orpingtons being 

The Minorca breed, originat- J. 9E| coarser in shape. The Ply- 

ing in the south of Europe, ,; ,j^^^ vioiitJi Rocks may be speckled, 

may be considered as one of f^-.-x '' wj^f^'- ^i§^t yellow, or white. The 

the very best of layers. The "^""^ breeding of speckled fowls 

eggs are large. The flesh, bitter ' often affords surprises. Some- 

and rather dry, is not as desir- ^^HHKfir -« ^^1 times they turn out all black, 

able as that of the larger ^^HRMMJE^flHr with legs of another color. The 

breeds ; therefore they are ^M ^f^^^^^r Rocks bear a striking resem- 

used chiefly as layers. Their '^J^MSjMm blance to the Wyandottes, with 

production of eggs is enor- »^^^a this difference, — that while the 

mous, but it takes place at a .».^,.- ^\ latter have a double crest the 

time when the market is well -■'^^'^ifcL-Ji^S**- Rocks have but one. 

supplied and the prices low. It The Cochm China fowls can 

. . . Cocks' Combs are a Dainty -^t, .^ .^ j- ^- i. 1 j 

usually ceases in winter, unless _ without contradiction be ranked 

-' ' FOR Epicures 

the hens are given a warm as a giant breed. When first 

house where they will not suffer from cold, imported from China into England such a 
which they cannot endure. To prevent their reputation came with them that the "hen with 
enormous crests from freezing, which happens the golden eggs" was supposed to be found; 
quickly, they should be covered with glycerin, but it was not long before poultry raisers found 

The Afidalusian breed is not popular in the that they had been mistaken or deceived. Since 
United States. It belongs, like the Minorca, to then they have been no longer valued as layers, 
the medium-sized races, and the hens^^. .^iHiflWiMnB .^....^^^^^ but merely as ornamental birds. They 
are valued exclusively for their /' ^\. look very well in the poultry 

eggs, which are numerous / j^^^K /W Y^^d, where they impose re- 

and constantly laid, though / ' M^^^ '^Bk ^P*^*^^ ^Y ^^^^'' lo''dly bear- 

in winter their crests / ^j^L ^^^^k 9^^k ^"^S" ^^^ cocks attain a 

make them bad brooders. / ^|^^ -.^^^S^^. '^^^^ weight of ten or twelve 

This species has but one / . ^ ^^^H||HH^^^^^^ "^^^I pounds. The hens are 

color, — steel blue. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^V '^ poor layers and their 

ThQ 0rpingt07is zxe t\iG 1 I^^^^^^^^^^V *« eggs are small. They 

last novelty. They pos- \ '^^^^^^^^^^m _„^ ^''^' however, good sit- 

sess many fine quahties, vn|:> 1^^^^^^^^ m^^ ters, though their weight 

and are the product of the ^SET -^^I^R ^«r ^^^^"^ destroys the whole 

crossing of several good \ .; ^^^H "fr brood. When they have laid 

breeds. The best are the j5«_^ \. --,'-fPL. •■ —< about fourteen or fifteen eggs 

6';;^z;ig-/wzj, which lay many large \^^^ ,' *^t^' _^--'' they begin to sit. The flesh of 

eggs and have excellent flesh. They --"^ these birds is not savory. The only 

are to England what the Houdans thing that can be said in their favor 

are to France or what the Wyandottes are to is that when their colors are fine they are 
America. At first sight persons ignorant of magnificent birds and excite universal admira- 
poultry cannot tell the Orpingtons from the tion. 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



237 



The Bra/tmas are also ponderous, but 
they have many good qualities. They lay 
a great number of large eggs, and their flesh 
is very good to eat. The lighter form of 
Brahma is undeniably one of the hand- 
somest breeds in America to-day. Their 
keep is e.xpensive, owing to their enormous 
size. The eggs are yellow and much in 
demand. The brood is smaller than that 
of the Cochin Chinas. They may be recom- 
mended to those who wish to have some- 
thing both useful and beautiful. 

The Speckled Meclilin, but little known 
in the United States, is also a heavy weight, 
but not more so than the Brahmas. The 
cock weighs usually ten pounds, the hen 
eight or nine. They are raised in great 
numbers in Belgium, in the neighborhood 





A Fine Specimen of the Cochin-Chin. \ Bueeu 

the legs are feathered and the comb ma\- be 
either single or double. 

The Braekels, also a Belgian breed and like- 
wise but little known in the United States, are 
noted as fine layers. Though small themselves, 
they lay large eggs and are verv good brooders. 



,KiHT Ukahma Hkn 



of Mechlin, and it is this breed that produces 
the celebrated fat Brussels pullets. The trade 
in these pullets is so large that some fatteners 
send two thousand weekly to other countries. 
The soup made from this breed is universally 
known. The hens are good layers in winter, 
and good brooders. Breeding for the markets 
begins in the months of October and Novem- 
ber, and brings in great profits. Fowls of the 
speckled variety are most in demand, although 
some white arc raised. They excite great 
interest at poultry shows, and in Belgium 
they have the place of honor. The cock is 
-Strong and rather coarse in conformation ; 




Pi.vMOl'TM Rock Hen 



238 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




to perfection and acclimated in northern countries. 
They may be classed among the very best layers. 
The eggs are large and numerous, but the flesh, dry 
and bitter, is less good. 

Dutch breeds have begun of late to make for them- 
selves a reputation. Those called the Hamburg breed 
are among the best species. They are good layers ; 
the eggs are numerous, though small, and the hen will 
sometimes lay two a day. They can safely be kept in 
any inclosure without danger to the brood. It is not 
surprising that a hen with such good qualities should 
have admirers, and her presence at all poultry shows 
increases the reputation she has made for herself. She 



White Leghorn Hen 



They require but little care, and will seek 
a maintenance for therfiselves. When three 
or four weeks old the cock crows with all his 
heart at break of day. The young cocks 
are fattened when si.\ or eight weeks old 
and are sold in the markets as pullets. 

Italian fowls are notorious because, 
through the enormous exportation made an- 
nually, they have spread the well-known fowl 
diseases in other countries. Those which 
can become accustomed to the climate are 
excellent layers. The LegJiorns, popular in 
the United States, are Italian fowls brought 





A Brahma Cock 



A Pair of Mechlin Coucous 

is not exacting, and can easily be raised in a town 
or city provided she is given dry quarters. In color 
she is either silvery or golden or black. Her eggs 
weigh a little less than two ounces each. The cock 
weighs five or six pounds, the hen from three to 
five. They are not suitable for fattening. As their 
comb has nothing to fear from frost, the hens will 
lay in winter if they have comfortable quarters. 

IX. Decorative Poultry 

As decorath'c poultry we must first name fighting 
cocks and the small breeds. 

Two species of fighting cocks should be noted 
— the larsfe and the small breeds. The large come 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



239 



chieriy from France and Bclj^ium, and arc 
brought thence to poultry shows, where the 
cocks will fight with one another if they can. 
Though forbidden b\ law, these 
cockfights are frequent, and llie 
authorities pretend not to see them. 
If by chance the police arrive, a 
person pre\iously designated allows 
himself to be arrested. Large sums 
arc often staketl in these fights. 
The care bestowed by owners on 
the belligerents is amazing. A cock 
of the fighting species is generally- 
regarded and treated as a member 
of the family, and if he has won 
several victories he becomes a 
source of considerable revenue. 
The birds are sent by railway from 
place to place, and arrive on the 
scene of combat armed with sharp- 
ened spurs. It often happens that 
they kill their adversaries at the first blow. 
This is actual maltreatment of animals, and 
may be compared with Sjianish bullfights. 




A Lo\i:u OF FLIGHTS 




larger than a ])igeon, though very tall upon the 
legs. They are pleasant to care for, taking 
little room and being very gentle. They are 
of different colors and are usually 
raised by amateurs, appearing often 
at poultry shows. 

liesides these smaller combatants 
we must name the Inmtavis, which 
are of every color imaginable. They 
are often iisetl to hatch the eggs 
of pheasants and ])artridges. They 
are also remarkable for laying many 
eggs of proportionate size. One of 
the finest of the dwarf breeds is the 
Sore use, or Negro, fowl. In place 
of feathers it is covered with long 
white hairs. These are su]ierb ani- 
mals, used frequentl)' for incubating 
pheasants. The name " Negro " 
comes from the fact that their skin 
is black. 

One of the handsomest of the decorative 
birds is the hooded l^adiiaii fowl. It is of 
ordinary size and its whole value lies in its 
hood, or topknot. The larger and more tufted 
that is, the more chance the bird has of win- 
ning prizes at poultry shows. In poultry, 
nothing can be more magnificent than a collec- 
tion of Paduan fowls. They may be of all colors, 



Sm.\m. ('i1:rm.\n Cock 

The other qualities of the fighting breeds are 
not man}-. The)- ])roduce few eggs anil their 
flesh is not worth much. 

Other belligerent breeds besides those of 
France and Belgium exist, such as the Brussels, 
the German, and the Mechlin. The latter are 
superb creatures, seen only at poultry shows. — silvery, golden, buff, while, black, etc 
The small fighting cocks have the same form finest of the race is the White-Hooded 
but are greatly reduced in size. They are not Coek. Me is all black excejjling the hood. 




A I'.\i>r.\N C 



The 
Dutch 
which 



240 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



is snow white. A few, however, are slate colored raising of these hooded fowls is almost wholly 
or a steel blue. The egg production, which is in the hands of sporting breeders, who have 
only passable, does not recommend them for time and means to spend upon it. 






i^ 


Jl 


1 


3H 


"■/nf^- 



A Dutch Cock with White Topknot 

general use. The Paduan fowls require very 
special care. If they are out in the rain the 
hood gets wet and it takes a long time to dry, 
which results frequently in diseases of the eye, 
etc. To have them always handsome and in 
good health they should be kept in a covered 



The Dutch Breed '■ Zil\eklaken '' 

X. Diseases 

It is only within a few years that the diseases 
of poultry have spread so widely. No doubt a 
bird died now and then, but the matter rested 
there ; epidemics were unknown. But since 



henhouse. To insure a beautiful appearance so much is written in the agricultural press, 





A Dutch Cock, Goudpel Breed 

the hoods are carefully washed when the birds 
are sent to shows and fairs. The chicks are 
hard to raise ; out of fifty only a few are hand- 
some or fit for exhibition. Consequently the 



A Silver Braekel Hen 
A celebrated prize winner 

magazines, and poultry journals about the breed- 
ing of the feathered tribes, fowls are more 
closely observed and studied. Poultry yards 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



241 



spring from the soil like mushrooms, only to 
disappear almost immediately. To what must 
we attribute this disappearance ? To disease 
and the imprudence of breeders. The countries 
that have suffered most from these diseases 
are Germany, parts of Belgium, and the Neth- 
erlands. So far, America has felt the scourge 
less than other lands, for the good reason that 
in importing fowls from other countries she 
has taken precaution to secure onl\' the best 
and most healthy individuals. 

Disease may be controlled by keeping the 
poultry yards and houses extremely clean and 
by watching them incessantly, for vermin will 
make their appearance. It is easy to get rid 
of lice, the worst enemy of fowls, by rubbing 
their wings and hind quarters with petroleum. 
The birds must also be made to take sand 
baths. If lice are not attacked and conquered 
in time, great harm may result. Hens thus 
affected cease to lay, and will languish and 
die ; while the chicks, which suffer even more 
from this pest, will share the same fate if 
prompt and efficacious measures are not taken. 
When lice appear breeders sometimes think 
that they are dealing with another disease, 



space to discuss here the treatment of other 
maladies, but much will have been done to 
prevent or to cure them if the advice we have 
now given be followed. Many of the diseases 





A I.. Mini 1; I i)K Till-: TSai'.ii s 
rhoto J. T. Newman, Berklinnipstead 

but inspection is sufficient to undeceive them. 
Cleanliness alone will save the breeders much 
loss and vexation. We have not sufficient 



A Hen with Young Ducklings 

are caused, and all are aggravated, by the 
presence of lice, and the surest way to keep 
poultry in good health is to fight the disease 
in the germ. 

One has only to take a walk through 
the markets of any large city to have 
an idea of the great proportions of the 
American poultry trade. 

XI. Ducks 

Every country has its specialty. 
Thus there are some in which the 
raising of ducks in vast numbers is 
])racticed, and that in a very lucrative 
manner, because the supply never 
et|uals the demand. 

Breeders of ducks know well how 

to conform to circumstances, and as 

ii is easy to dispose of ducklings that 

are from eight to twelve weeks old, 

they never let them grow a day older, 

as they can get no more profit by 

doing so. This business is especially 

lucrative when done systematically with a good 

breed in the neighborhood of large cities or 

towns, provided sufficient space can be had. 



242 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




INCLOSURE FOR DuCKS 
Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 

It is not possible to keep ducks in coops 
or inclosures like fowls ; they prefer an open 
field with running water in it, where they are in 
their element. They do not need much food 
because they provide in a great measure for 
themselves. Far from being lazy, they are 
always waddling about to satisfy their gluttony. 
They eat anything, and are capital destroyers 



of snails and grubs. In the 
neighborhood of Oudenarde 
(eastern Flanders) more than 
a hundred thousand ducklings 
are raised annually. Breeding 
begins in November and ends 
in April. The land on which 
the ducklings are raised con- 
sists usually of fields belong- 
ing to the village, or commune, 
which allows pasturage for the 
young birds from November 
to April, after which time the 
fields are reserved for cattle. 
All devote themselves to rais- 
ing ducks, and as it is some- 
times difficult for the owners 
to distinguish their birds, a 
brush of paint is found useful. 
Hence ducks may be seen in the markets with 
blue wings, green wings, etc. 

After quitting the eggs (which are generally 
hatched by hens, chiefly the speckled Mecklin 
hen) they are shut up for a few days and fed 
on soft food — wheat, barley, and oats ground 
up and mixed with hard-boiled &gg. After 
this they are let out into the field and supplied 




Wild Ducks 



THK CiALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



243 




Sl'K 



Indian Klnnkk Dicks (Mali, and Fkmai.k) 

with animal food, which is essential to their 
growth. The breeder puts on big wooden 
shoes and proceeds to kick up the earth in the 
field in order to force out the worms which 
form the animal food of the ducklings. It is 
very comical to those who are present 
at this performance for the 
first time to see these men 
hopping about their fields. 
Most of the young ducks, 
as we have already said, ar 
not kept longer than twelve 
weeks, because after that time it is diffi- 
cult to sell them on account of the new 
feathers which then begin to grow. To ha\e 
well-fertilized eggs from the old ducks not more 
than six or eight should be given to one drake. 
They must also have sufficient water within 
reach, either flowing naturally through the 
field or in artificial ponds. 

In America we have special establishments 
for the raising of ducks, many of which raise 
twenty thousand yearly. For this it is neces- 
sary to have great knowledge and experience, 
and also a large capital. Most duck-raising 
establishments are provided with a natural flow 
of water, and have coops or shelters accom- 
modating from forty to fifty birds. As these 
establishments are of great extent many of 
them are furnished, for convenience, with little 
railways built four nr fi\e feet abox'c tiic soil, 
which cause an enormous saving of time and 




troujjle in the distribution of food. As yet 
Europe has no such establishments as ours. 
She will doubtless have them some day when 
her attention is called to them and she makes 
a special study of their advantages. 

It is easier to raise ducks than fowls, pro- 
\ided the breeder has sufficient space at his 
command. They give less trouble and are al- 
most completely free from disease. Those most 
freciuenth' met with are the Roticit c/iick. a 
product of French breeders, wiiich nia)-, b_\- 
good right, be considered one of the very best 
species. They are often admired in their full 
beautv at poultry shows, to which thev are sent 
in large numbers. They are not only beautiful 
birds but also fine layers, and the same may be 
said of another French duck, the Toulouse. 

Good ducks are found in Belgium, where they 
are taking pains to make their national breeds 
famous. In England the duck par excellence 
is the Aylesbury, which has made itself famous 
for its good qualities. It is very 
hardy, grows very fast, and 
lays many eggs. There is 
no poultry show in any 
countr)' where it will not 
be seen, and the impression 
it makes is most agreeable, with 
its white plumage, red beak, and yel- 
low legs. The Pekiu duck, which the 
uninitiated can seldom distinguish from the 
Aylesbury duck, has also made itself a reputa- 
tion for its excellence ; as far as popularity is 
concerned it undouijtcdh- occupies a turcniost 





^-aH 




b^ 


■ ^"^•■■f'^- 





(^M \1 1. AMI I'l.MAl.l.) 



244 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



position. In the United States a larger num- 
ber of white Peliin ducks are raised for market 
than of any other breed. 

If there is a species that has rapidly made 
itself a world-wide reputation, it is the duck of 
India. Not long ago this breed was completely 
unknown to us, and now it is offered for sale 
in every poultry journal in every land. It is 
one of the most fertile of ducks, laying from 
150 to 160 eggs a year. It is also very good 



XII. Geese 
The breeding of geese is far from being 
general. Like that of ducks, it is done on a 
large scale only in certain countries. Fanciers 
raise a few, but only for the purpose of send- 
ing them to shows. Here and there a few 
large farms have attempted to raise them, 
giving it up after a time as unproductive. 
Breeding on a large scale is practiced only 
in the south of France, near Toulouse, in the 




Geese fattening for the Market 

Photo J. T. Newman, Berkhampstead 



for the table, its flesh being extremely delicate. 
It is very active and can fly far. These birds 
have no absolute need of water ; they prefer to 
roam the meadows and fields in search of 
worms and other grubs. 

Various species of decorative ducks exist ; 
of these the Madeiras and the Carolinas are 
the most beautiful. They are usually kept in 
aviaries and zoological gardens. The wild 
ducks of the mountains and the fens are 
very beautiful in plumage, but they cannot be 
classed as domestic animals. 



south of Belgium, in the east of Prussia, in 
Italy, and in Russia, all of which supply the 
markets of other countries. Russia especially 
inundates the German markets. The business 
is very productive because the feeding of geese 
costs nothing. A goose needs no other food 
than grass, which it finds in sufficient quantity 
on the vast steppes of Russia. The goose girl 
goes to the fields every morning with her flock, 
returning at night to the village. 

If geese had to be fed on grain it would 
not pay to raise them ; the expense would 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRI15ES 



245 



be greater than the price re- 
ceived for them. It is (ini\- 
during the first three or four 
weeks that it is advisable 
to give the gosHngs a little 
ground grain, carefully mixetl. 
The eggs must be hatched not 
by geese but by turke\s or 
large fowls. To have eggs well 
fertilized the geese must li\c 
near a pond or running water. 
The gander should not be less 
than two years old nor have 
more than four geese with 
him. Though geese are very 
hardy and cold has little influ- 
ence upon them, it is well to give them a com 
fortable home. A shed can be made with a few 





riii: Fi:i.ni;R 



A FA.M11.V OF Geese 

neck, for then they have less chance to defend 
themselves. Geese have one special merit — 
the\- are good guardians of the farm. 
If there is the slightest disturbance 
during the night the)- know it and 
gi\'e warning, and if a stranger 
comes upon the premises tlie\ make 
a terrible noise. Tramps arc not to 
be feared if geese are about. There 
is a Belgian story of a certain goose, 
fifteen years old at least, which 
always slept in a dog's kennel and 
regularly accompanied him when he 
was harnessed to his cart, and it is 
said that three times she drove 
thieves away from it. Hence she 
was honored as a heroine. 



stakes and thatch, and the floor covered with 
oat straw, which should be turned over every 
second day and renewed wcekh'. In summer 
geese almost always sleep in the open and do 
not seek shelter. They are not good layers ; the 
best breeds will seldom give more than thirty 
eggs a year. It is difficult to distinguish the 
male from the female ; only experience can teach 
one. The gander is built more heavily and the 
head and neck are coarser. Their strength is 
amazing and caution is required in catching them, 
for their wing blows are severe ; they strike with 
such force as sometimes to break the arm of 
their captor. It is best to take them by the 




Toci.ocsic C.K 



246 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




Chinese Geese 

The best known species is the giant goose 
of Toulouse. Its ordinary weight is from six- 
teen to eighteen pounds, but it has been known 
to reach twenty-four. This bird is much in 
demand. The best part of a goose is its liver, 
which is a feast for epicures. It is exported 
to all parts of the world, but the largest quan- 
tity is consumed in Paris. Next in value to 
the liver are the feathers, which are plucked 
from the bird every year in a very cruel 
manner. It would be best to perform this 
operation during the molting season, when 
the birds would suffer less, but as a gen- 
eral thing no one pays the least attention 
to that consideration, and the feathers are 
plucked out whenever the breeder sees fit 
to do so. 

The Pomeranian goose is also a fine 
species, but is little known in this coun- 
try ; it is tall and well made, thanks to the 
fact that the inhabitants never pluck it. 
In Germany these geese are driven for days 
from one town to another before reaching 
their market, in flocks of four or five 



hundred in charge of one man. Geese are 
good travelers, not being easily fatigued. 
They are proof against all diseases except 
cholera, which, when once started, makes 
great ravages among them. 

We must also mention the Embden goose, 
likewise a German species and somewhat 
known here. It is all white with a very 
long neck, and is more elegant than the 
Pomeranian. Its medium weight is twenty 
pounds, though it has been known to reach 
twenty-eight. The feathers of this breed 
are much in demand. It lays but few eggs, 
twenty annually at most. The giant goose 
of Italy is the only one of the kind that 
lays well, producing about sixty eggs a 
year. It is also very heavy, but its flesh 
is of an inferior quality. Other less-known 
breeds, such as the Chinese geese, are usually 
found in zoological gardens and other pub- 
lic exhibits. Now that so much stress is 
being laid on the necessity for greater care 
in the breeding of poultry, it is to be hoped 
that geese will profit by it, and that breed- 
ers will learn to raise them in other ways than 
those practiced to-day. The breeding of geese 
has as yet received but little attention, but 
breeders will realize great profits the moment 
they learn right methods, and so will contribute 
to the prosperity of their country and to the 
well-being of trade and farming. 




GERjtAN Geese 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



247 




Emudex Geese 

XIII. Turkeys been made which have resulted in new varieties. 

It is ]-;nown that this superb bird is of Ameri- The best known species is the bivuzc turkey of 
can origin, and that it was introduced by America. It is, without contradiction, a noble 
sailors and explorers into Europe, where it is bird, which can bring in great profits. It is 
regarded as a domestic animal, and much care still to be found in its wild state in certain 
has been taken in breeding it. Crossings have parts of the United States, where it lives in 

flocks of from twenty to fift)- and 
even one hundred birds. It was soon 
seen what profits there would be in 
raising these turkeys, and great 
establishments were made for the 
purpose. Eui'ope followed the ex- 
ample of America, and now there is 
scarcely a large farm on which these 
birds are not kept. It is an acknowl- 
edged fact that they are the best of 
hatchers ; from twenty to twenty- 
four eggs may be intrusted to them, 
whence their name of "living incuba- 
tors." They are ahso excellent care- 
takers and guardians of their flocks. 
To inexperienced persons the rais- 
ing of turkeys offers little or no 




A I'.MR or A.Mi:nic.\N Huon/.i'. Tckkkvs 



248 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



profit, because the young are much more diffi- 
cult to bring up than chickens. For hundreds 
of years in France (a country well adapted to 
poultry) the raising of turkeys has been a great 
industry, and the finest specimens are found 



of a woman who crosses the village every morn- 
ing with her flock on her way to the open fields. 
On her return at night each bird knows where 
it belongs and goes there, never making a mis- 
take. All the villagers do not need a male bird. 




Turkeys in a Field 



there. The Sologne turkey is unsurpassed. It 
is a superb animal of a brilliant black color, 
though some (but these are usually small) are 
white or steel-blue. A Sologne turkey which 
attained the enormous weight of forty-five 
pounds carried off the highest honors at all 
the shows to which he was sent. At Madrid, 
in 1902, he even had the honor of attracting the 
attention of the young king and his mother, the 
queen regent. During the return journey this 



a few being sufficient for a flock. It is a real 
pleasure to see these creatures marching 
proudly along, with wings deployed and feathers 
raised. They advance with the gravity of a 
ruler in the midst 
of his subjects. 

The white tur- 
key is likewise a 
superb animal. 
The Dutch zvhiic 



';s*M'S??'SMei5«ar:sK>ftR:i!!wM.-^ 




YouxG Turkeys 



turkey took cold, and when he had scarcely re- 
covered he was killed by a scoundrel, who paid 
for his crime by six months' imprisonment. 

There are villages in France where turkeys 
are kept at the public expense, under the care 



breed is easily distinguished from the Sologne. 
The latter is larger and attains a weight of from 
twenty-five to thirty pounds, while the former 
weighs only from eighteen to twenty. Their 
flesh is excellent and much in demand. In 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



249 



England, as in the United States, the chief dish 
at the Christmas dinner is a turkey artistically 
trussed and decorated. 

Turkeys do not require much food and do 
well on farms which possess extensive fields 
over which they can roam. 
Too much care cannot be 
given to protect the young 
birds from the hot sun and 
from rainstorms, for they are 
extremely delicate ; but if this 
care is given they will grow 
and develop rapidly. The 
adults are strong and vigor- 
ous and little subject to dis- 
ease. It is not necessary to 
change the male every year. 
The food of the young birds 
consists especially of wheat, 
barley, oats, and Indian corn, coarsely ground 
and made into a paste that is easy to crumble ; 
also hard-boiled eggs mixed with chopped alfalfa 
or clover and stale bread should be added to 
their bill of fare. 

The raising of turkeys is one of the finest 
and most interesting of occupations and ought 
to be practiced far more than it is at present. 



XIV. Swans 

The record of the winged domestic animals 

of the farm, the house, or the country place is 

not complete if no mention is made of the szi'iiii, 

that graceful ornament of lakes and ponds. 





A .Swan's Ni:st 

The movement should be started in the United 
States ; and only when we figure up our pro- 
ductions and profits at some international poul- 
try show will turke)s arouse the attention 
they deserve. 



Turkeys in a Park 

Though now and then capricious to strangers 
and furious to its enemies, it is in reality a very 
docile bird, and a pair of swans are a model of 
peace and domestic happiness. But woe to him 
who risks annoying the mother or steps too 
near to the progeny if the father is near ! He 
will surely attack both men and dogs, as well 
as aquatic animals, with vigorous blows of his 
powerful wings. 

Swans make their own nests and 
require little care ; but when it is a 
question of raising valuable swans, 
it is well to construct a little island 
in the middle of the pond or arti- 
ficial lake for the mother and to 
build upon it a shelter filled with 
straw. The number of eggs laid is 
usually from six or eight to twelve, 
which the mother broods upon 
for thirt\-six days, while the father 
mounts guai'd faithfully. Soon 
after the young swans are hatched 
they bravely take to the water and 
swim after their parents in search 
of their natural food, or of the barley, oats, or 
cooked potatoes that are thrown to them. 

P'or many persons the swan is a source of 
revenue. Its down and beautiful, strong wings 
bring good returns, subject, however, to the 



250 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



caprices of fashion and the customs of the 
country. We no longer use swans' quills for 
pens ; nor do we believe in the chariot of 
Lohengrin and the young swan-maidens who 



was discovered, they say, in 1668 by the sailors 
of the East India Company, who brought it to 
Europe, where it was speedily bred and raised. 
Millions still people the lakes of southern 




The Bosom of the Family 



attended the Valkyria and who played so prom- 
inent a part in ancient legends. 

Swans are to be found everywhere except 
in the tropics. About ten species have been 
discovered, of which the best known are the 
domestic swans, both white and black. 

The white swan is the largest species. Its 
red beak, especially in the males, is furnished 
with a sort of protuberance, and its legs are 
black. The young swans are gray when born, 
and do not have their dazzline; white color until 




Black Swans 

they are two years old. There is, however, a 
species, or sport, which is white with white 
legs from its birth. 

Seen alone in our ponds, the black swan has 
a rather somber aspect, but in company with 
the white swans it produces a fine effect. It 



Australia, where they live in a wild state in 
company with the wild or singing swan, which 
is known by its beak, half black, half citron- 
yellow, and which, when tamed, is unwilling 
to hatch its eggs. It is probably this wild 
swan which has given rise to many poetical 
ideas, especially that of the swan's song ; for 
it does in reality make a sound which might 
be taken for a species of song. There was 
one in Bremen in 1856, which had many 
listeners from far and near ; and certain 
writers make mention, as of 
a natural fact, that singing 
swans inhabit the shores of 
the North Sea, especially to 
the east of Holstein. 

The swan with a black neck 
holds a middle place between 
the two preceding species. 
Comparatively, it has been 
known only of late, and it 
was not until 1880 that young" 
ones were successfully raised 
at the Jardin des Plantes in 
Paris. A native of South 
America, it is now acclimated 
throughout nearly the whole 
of Europe. The sharp division between the 
dazzling white body and the black neck makes 
the bird a much-desired though costly ornament 
to ponds and lakes. It keeps usually at a cer- 
tain distance from the other swans unless it 
makes war upon them. The protuberance on 



THE GALLINACEOUS TRIBES 



the beak is red, while the beak itself is j^ra)\ 
The legs are also retl. 

A species less known by private individuals 
and less seen on the artificial waters of a city 

is the tnnnpci sivaii. wliich is very easy to 



the house. In Belj^nimi a flock of swans are daily 
guests at the casino of the officers of the 
" Guards." This casino stands close to the canal 
of the city, and near it are steps leading down to 
the water. E\'ery afternoon the swans come 




propagate in its captive state, but it is not so 
welcome as it might be, on account of its noisy 
trumpetings. 

Generally, in a peaceful neighborhood, swans 
can be brought to behave as domestic animals ; 
that is to say, to come out of the water and seek 
their food in a certain place, often very near to 



out of the canal, go up the steps, and across the 
street to the kitchen of the casino, where they 
knock with their beaks on the floor. Their meal 
is given to them, and then, at the command of 
the head cook, they return to the canal in line, 
paying no attention to dogs, carriages, or an\- 
thing else encountered on their way. 



X 

RABBITS 

Rabbits are often raised with poultry, but the Continent the rabbits they need for food, 
it is only recently that this form of industry They import them annually by millions from 
has aroused any interest among us, though for France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Aus- 
tralia. The English working- 
man cannot do without the 
rabbit stew which forms his 
Sunday dinner. Since the 
founding of the Dutch associ- 
ation in 1897 the breeding of 
rabbits in Holland has become 
so extensive that in 1902 
breeders were able to send 
two million dollars' worth to 
the English market. 

I. Breeding and Raising 
The rabbit is not particular 
about its food and can be kept 
at small cost. Yet, if persons 
wish to succeed, care and at- 
tention are necessary. Rabbits well cared for 
are not to be despised as food. They require, 
first of all, good quarters, which are seldom given 
them. In Europe workingmen and peasants usu- 
ally keep them in filthy hutches often filled with 
manure. Instead of cleaning these hutches 
weekly, the owners merely throw in 
handful of fresh straw. 
Good sense should 
teach them the im- 
possibility of keep- 
ing animals healthy 
under such condi- 
tions. In these same 
hutches the females 
ive birth to their young, 
and it is not surprising that the 
little ones die in great numbers 




A Dark Silver Rabbit 



centuries it has been carried on in France and 
Belgium, where the rabbit is commonly used 
for food. 

In Germany there was no serious attempt 
at breeding rabbits until after the War of 1870, 
when the German soldiers saw the attention 
given to the industry by French- 
men, and the profits it 
afforded, whereupon, 
on their return 
home, they began 
to import French 
rabbits, which 
were much larger 
than the little Ger- 
man animals found here 

and there on farms. Associations 

A P.\iR OF Russi.w 
Rabbits 




having for their object the breeding of 

rabbits were formed by the hundred, simply from lying on filth. Many 

while conferences and exhibitions were held, ignorant breeders imagine that they die because 
The chief work in this line is done in England, some one has touched the nest ! There is no 
though the English still prefer to obtain from danger in touching the young rabbits, provided 

252 



RABBITS 



253 




An English Loi'-Earf.d Rahiiit (Fi:male) 



the owner or the person who 
feeds them does it. Rabbits 
are afraid of strangers, and if 
they approach, the terrified 
mother will jump upon her 
young to protect them, and 
in so doing smother them. 

To raise rabbits with profit 
it is necessary, above all, to 
have suitable hutches, for 
which purpose large bo.xes or 
barrels can be used. If bo.xes 
are chosen they must be so 
placed that they will be dr)' 
and sanitary. The hutches 
for the females, which should 
always be rather larger than 



those for the males, must be three feet long, 
two and a half feet wide, and twenty inches 
deep. They must be provided with lattice 
tl<)(jrs. When the mother rabbit is about to 
bring forth young she should be placed in 
a " nest hutch." It is not necessary that this 
should be the size of the above, and the open- 
ing need be only large enough for the mother 
to pass through, with a few holes above for 
ventilation. The young ones will then be well 
lodged and protected against inclemencies of 
weather. Above all, it is necessary to make 
sure that these hutches be placed in dry 




An English Lof-Eakld Rahhit (Male) 




A l.i:i'OKii)i-: R\i'.i',ir ( I'km \i,i.) 



situations, as in a barn or 
shed, where neither wind nor 
rain can reach them. If the 
rabbits must be kept out of 
doors, a shed made of planks 
and covered with tar paper 
should be built over the 
hutches ; the roof should be 
tarreil and the inside parti- 
tions whitewashed. 

If it is desired to have a 
good rabbit home, several 
bo.xes of uniform size may be 
placed together in groups of 
three or more. They should 
never stand directly on the 
ground, but should be raised 



254 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



some four or five inches. Those that are kept 
in the open air must face the sun. Casks or 
barrels, especially kerosene barrels, may also 
be used. These should be laid on low trestles, 




A Blue-and-Tax Rabbit 

with the bung on the under side, so that liquids 
may run off easily ; and an opening, with a door 
of slats covered with netting, to prevent the 
incursions of rats and mice, should be made at 
one end of the barrel. If a kerosene barrel is 
used the inside must be burned out to remove 
the smell. The scheme of 
using barrels, which is con- 
venient and pretty, is frequent 
in France. 

Rabbits used for breeding 
must be at least seven months 
old. The male and female 
should never be left alone 
together for a day and night, 
or they will fight. The 
mother rabbit gives birth to 
eight or nine young ones at 
the end of thirty days. A few 
days before the birth the 
hutch should be thoroughly 
cleansed and furnished with 
soft oat straw and hay. The mother will then 
be seen to make her nest with extreme care. 
She begins by carrying into one corner all the 
hay and straw ; she then makes a hollow in this 



and lines it with fur pulled from her breast, to 
make a soft, warm bed for her progeny. When 
the young rabbits have arrived the mother 
should be given something juic\', — a carrot or 
turnip, or perhaps a little 
warm milk and water, — to 
prevent her from devouring 
the little ones, which very 
often happens if she is fever- 
ish and thirsty and does not 
know what she is about. 
Thirst tortures her, but if she 
gets something to allay it all 
goes well. 

The day after the birth the 
nest should be examined. If 
some of the young ones are 
dead they should, of course, be 
taken away. Sometimes the 
mother gives birth to ten or 
a dozen, which are more than 
she can comfortably feed. In 
that case some of them should be killed, leav- 
ing at most six of the largest with the mother. 
These will thrive better and bring more profit 
than if all had been left alive. 

When the young rabbits are six weeks old 
it is well to begin to wean them, but not all at 




A Giant Flanders Rabbit (Female) 

the same time, as this would injure the mother. 
The strongest and best developed should be 
taken away first, and then the others at inter- 
vals of a day or two. After this the mother 



RABBITS 



255 



should be ni\-en two weeks' rest, (lurinL,^ which 
time she must be suitabl)' fed, so as to reccner 
strength before she proceeds to ha\e another 
litter. After the youni;- rabbits are taken from 
their mother the\' shoukl be phiced all together 
in one hutch until they are three months old, 
the age at which the sexes 
must be separated. If the 
rabbits are to be raised for 
cooking this is the time to 
begin to give them solid footl, 
for at five months the\- ought 
to be killed and sold profit- 
ably. A new male should 
often be bought, for it is not 
prudent to raise animals too 
closely related, as diseases 
and debility often result. 

The raising of rabbits has 
a financial and moral interest 
for the boy. If he has a real 
affection for his animals he 
will take care of them on his return from 
school or work instead of loafing in the street 
and wasting his time. All that concerns their 
breeding will interest him, and he will seek 
to add to his knowledge by experience and 
b\' reading books and journals. He will think 
and reflect, and his intelligence will de\elop. 



desired ]iersons shouUl make choice among 
those now existing. 

II. Thk \'.\Ki<)i's Hrf.f.ds 
W'e begin with the king of rabbits, the _i^iaiit 
rabbit of Flaitdcrs. It is by far the best known 





A Cii.vxT \'ii.NN.\ k.M'.i'.ir (Mali) 

Much has been written of late on the breed- 
ing of rabbits with the object of improving the 
quality of their flesh. For our part we think 
this useless, nearly all the present species being 
the result of crossings. If a good breed is 



A Young Giant Flanders Rabbit 

breed, and no exhibition is ever held in which 
it is not represented in great numbers. This 
rabbit has its cradle in Flanders, chiefly about 
Ghent and vicinity, where especial attention is 
paid to its breeding. A few years ago, owing 
to the \ast exportation of rabbits to foreign 
countries, the quality of the meat deteriorated 
and the number of buyers diminished 
perceptibly. The association of the 
"Neerhof" happily intervened in 
time and succeeded in obtaining a 
subsidy from the government for the 
purchase of male rabbits which re- 
mained the [iroperty of the associa- 
tion. Thus the best specimens were 
preservetl, good breeding made great 
progress, and the weight of the ani- 
mals increased. Only a few are fat- 
tened for the market, and those are 
not suitable for breeding. The color 
is chiefly fawn or iron-gray, although 
sometimes black, steel-blue, yellow, and white 
occur. Animals of the two last-named colors are 
rare and not as large as those of other colors. 
The raising of these giants is not easy, and 
much experience is required to obtain those 



256 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A Leporide Hare-Colored Rabbit 

that are strong and handsome. At Ghent the 
business is chiefly in the hands of the working 
classes, and they are very skillful at it, which 
indeed is natural, as their ancestors did it be- 
fore them and transmitted the experience from 
father to son. We sometimes hear it said that 
the breeding of these robust and handsome 
animals is a secret with the Ghent producers, 
but this is not so. There is no secret, but 
only a good reason, which is that no males are 
ever imported from foreign parts. The Flemish 
giants are not good eating. The males are excel- 
lent for improving the breed of common rabbits. 

The blue giant of Vienna is one of the latest 
novelties. It is a superb crea- 
ture whose dark blue fur brings 
a good price from furriers. It 
is produced by crossing the 
silver rabbit with the Flan- 
ders blue giant. Its bones are 
small and its flesh abundant 
and excellent. The female is 
very prolific and at the same 
time hardy. 

The double of the Vienna 
giant is the bbie giant of 
Beveren (Flanders), found in 
great numbers in the region 
from which it takes its name. 
It is not the product of any 
crossing and forms a species 
by itself. Its fur is of great 



value and is thicker and closer than 
that of the Vienna giant. It attains 
a weight of from seven to ten pounds, 
which it cannot exceed without les- 
sening the vakve of the fur. Though 
this breed had formerly only a local 
reputation, it is now much talked of, 
and is seen at all Belgian exhibitions. 
The Belgian /tare, called also the 
leporide, is a rabbit of Belgian origin, 
though it is not raised in that king- 
dom. It descends from the Flemish 
giant, and every effort has been 
made to make it look like a hare. 
Those we see to-day at shows in 
America bear a striking resemblance 
to hares. It is sometimes stated that this rab- 
bit is the product of crossings with the wild 
field hare, but that is a legend ; the male 
rabbit cannot be mated with the doe hare. If 
the Belgian hare resembles the true hare, it is 
due to the pains taken in breeding it across the 
Channel. It is really in itself a fine, strong 
race, interesting and prolific. It is a little wild, 
to be sure, but gets over its timidity when 
accustomed to those who care for it. Though it 
never attains great weight (six or seven pounds 
at the most), its flesh is very savory. This breed 
was imported to America in vast numbers a 
few years ago. 




A French Lop-Eared Rabbit 



RABBITS 



257 



The French lop-carcd rabbit may, 
by good right, be called a useful 
animal. It is fouml chiefl\' in France, 
though it is not unknown in Ger- 
many, where it has been imported in 
large numbers ever since the War 
of 1870, when the German soldiers 
discovered its merits. Its two flop- 
ping ears hang down on each side 
of the head and almost touch the 
ground. It comes in all colors, chiefly 
gray, but sometimes steel-blue, black, 
and yellow. 

The English lop-carcd rabbit 
owes its existence to the French 
breed. In England novelty is de- 
sired, — new things before useful 
things. A rabbit's ears ought to be 
long ! At first breeders of the ani- 
mals had recourse to overheating the 
habitations, so that this English product may 
rightly be called a hothouse breed. The speci- 
mens seen at shows are smaller than the French 
rabbit, but their ears are much longer, those 
measuring from eighteen to twenty inches being 
by no means uncommon. Once upon a time this 
animal was all the fashion in England ; lately it 
has given place to other breeds. In the matter 
of utility the English lop-eared rabbit is worth 
absolutely nothing, for it is feeble, without re- 
sistance to disease, and serves only to please 





.\ l-if.in .Sii.\i;k Rai'.t.it 



A WiuTF. AxooRA K.M'.r.iT 

amateurs who take immense pains and trouble 
solely to exhibit it at shows. 

The Angora rabbit is one of the most beauti- 
ful species that exists, and also one of the most 
useful. A more superb animal can scarcely 
be imagined. The fur of some of them is over 
four inches long. The skins are greatly in de- 
mand, and all sorts of useful articles are made 
of the fur, — undergarments, stockings, gloves, 
shawls, and even stuffs. The undergarments 
are specially beneficial to gouty persons. This 
animal is often raised by ladies 
as a pet and for its beauty, 
so that now it is commonly 
called "the ladies' rabbit." 
It finds more admiring breed- 
ers in France than elsewhere. 
If more attention were given 
to raising it in other coun- 
tries it would soon become 
a conunercial article in great 
demand. At present manufac- 
turers cannot obtain enough 
of its fur to work it with wide 
success. It could certainly be 
bred most profitably. The 
female is very prolific and 
rears her young with ease. 



258 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



The race exacts but little care, is seldom ill, 
and its flesh is excellent. These Angora rabbits 
should be combed weekly ; if neglected, their 
appearance is woeful. There are other species 




A Dutch R.aubit 

besides the white ; the Russian Angoras, white 
with black noses, ears, legs, and tails, are 
comical to behold. 

The silver rabbits are also splendid animals, 
whose skins are used by furriers and bring 
great prices. They are small but immensely 
prolific. At birth the little ones are black, at 
three months the silver hair appears, and at 
four months they have their true color. The 
light colored are handsomer than the dark 
colored, but the two shades 
must never be mated, or the 
young rabbits will be either too 
light or too dark, which lessens 
considerably the commercial 
value of their skins. There is 
also a silver-brown and a silver- 
yellow animal, but these are 
seldom or never met with in 
this country. The two first 
named are the most in vogue. 
The finest specimens have a 
uniform color ; even the nose, 
paws, and tail should not be 
darker than the body. 

The DiitcJi 7-abbit is much the 
smallest of all species. It is not difficult to raise, 
but in order to have good specimens a large num- 
ber should be raised and the finest chosen ; the 
others can be sold to the markets. When the 
markings are very clear these animals are ex- 
tremely handsome. The engraving shows one 



which has attained very high distinction. The 
cultivation of this species is wholly in the hands 
of sporting breeders, especially Englishmen. 
A man must be past master in the art of breed- 
ing, and must have practiced it for years 
on this species, to obtain satisfactor}' re- 
sults. There are different colors, — black, 
yellow, steel-blue, etc. The essential thing 
is to choose precisely the species which 
will improve their descendants and yet keep 
as near as possible to the prototype. Even 
in Holland this indigenous rabbit has many 
admirers, who are encouraged by a club 
founded for the purpose, and by the prom- 
ise of very high prizes at the shows. As yet 
it has been found impossible to raise a breed 
of which the young shall be uniform in their 
markings. The Dutch rabbit is not particular 
about its food and costs very little to raise. 
Belgium has produced a rabbit that shows some- 
what the same markings, but is half as heavy 
again. The Brabant rabbit gives excellent meat 
and is exported in great numbers to England. 
The Russian rabbit is most curiously marked. 
It is all white except at its extremities, the 
nose, ears, paws, and tail being jet-black. The 




A Russian Rabbit 

blacker these extremities the greater the value. 
The fur is very thick and much in demand by 
merchants. It is one of the smaller species 
and is also called the Himalaya rabbit because 
immense numbers are found in the mountains 
of that name. It is everywhere admired and 



RABBITS 



259 



is often raised solely as a decorative animal. 

It cannot be too highly recommended for its 

meat ; it is very prolific and the young rabbits 

make a delicious stew. At birth th(.-\- arc ]iini<, 

the white conies later, and the 

black fur does not appear until 

the\" are four months old. At 

six months they are in their 

full beauty ; at the end of a 

year and a half they lose it, 

because by that time the black 

begins to turn a rusty brown. 

To preserve this fine color the 

hutches must be kept in dark 

stables, away from the action 

of the sunlight. This is one 

of the most agreeable rabbits 

to raise. 

The tricolor Japan rabbit 
is very like the tricolor (other- 
wise called "tortoise-shell") 
cat and is the product of the 
crossing of various breeds. These rabbits are 
not much in vogue. Their colors are black, 
yellow, and a dirty white. Generally one half 
of the head is yellow, the other half black ; the 
markings on the back and sides are in lines, or 



its snow-white fur, which is very valuable to 
furriers. It is still t|uile rare on the Continent. 
Children delight in it. Too small to be rai.sed 
f(ir the market, it is ne\erlheless often eaten 





A French Paph.i.on (Mai.f.) 

in rings around the body. The more distinct 

these markings the more the animal is valued. 

The Polish rabbit, of English origin, is 

small ; its red eyes shine out pleasantly from 



A Tricolor R.\r.r.iT of J.\i'.\n 

in families, for its flesh is good when young. It 
has a large progeny, which are easy to raise. 

The Frc7ich papilloii {or butterfly) rabbit, 

also a small species, is of recent date ; some 

years ago it appeared onh' at shows, but, being 

a pretty animal, it soon found 

admirers to raise it. It is 

white with black, yellow, 

gray, or steel-blue spots placed 

with some regularity. The 

nose and ears must always be 

of the same color as the spots. 

From behind the ears a stripe 

extends along the back, and 

the spots ought to be ranged 

with regularity on each side 

about the haunch. This breed 

is raised in about the same 

manner as the Dutch rabbit, 

but the French animals are 

bred more for food than for 

ornament. 

The Norman rabbit is incontestabh' the best 

of all species for hutciiering. It attains a 

weight of from nine to ten jiounds and may be 

killed when five ■months oki. It is raised in 



26o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A Blue Beveren Rabbit (Male) 



vast numbers in the villages of 
France, and it is this breed that 
in the Paris markets. It is 
very prolific and is able to 
bear privations. It is raised 
almost exclusively as an arti- 
cle of food. 

The black-and-tan rabbits 
are the result of the cross- 
ing of various species mingled 
with wild blood, which can be 
perceived at first sight. It is 
by far the shyest and least 
tamable of its tribe ; if any 
one goes near its hutch it 
will burrow into the darkest 
corner. Although its appear- 
ance is certainly sullen, and 
even savage, its body is ab- 
solutely beautiful. Its fur, of 



the north of 
is chiefly sold 



a brilliant black and very thick, is fine for 
cloaks and pelisses ; it is white on the belly, 
under the jaw, about the ears, and on the 
tips of its paws. The same species in steel- 
blue is also extremely handsome and goes 
by the name of bhie-and-taii. Both breeds 
originated in England, whence they were 
imported into France, and later into other 
countries. To have the handsomest young 
rabbits it is well to cross the blue and the 
black, and vice versa. A litter, usually of 
from four to six, will contain both colors. 
The Havana rabbit, so named from its brown, 
or chocolate, color, is of very recent date. The 





A Polish Rabbit 



A BLArK-AND-T.\X R.\r.BlT 

first time it was exhibited it bore the 
name of the English flame-eyed rab- 
bit; next it was called the Beveren, re- 
ceiving finally from the Netherlands 
Association the name Havana. 
Though of recent date, it is already 
well known. The finest are found in 
Holland, although France has also a 
species which has received the same 
name. Its fur secures to it a great 
future, and there is no doubt that it 
will soon spread throughout Europe. 
It is easy to raise, and the young are 
all like their parents. Its admirers 
increase after every show at which 
it makes its appearance. 



RABBITS 



261 



III. Preservation of the Skins 
At the present time rabbit skins bring a 
high price, and it is well to take good care of 
them. The animals should be carefully packed 
in straw, for all injury, rent, or cut, however 
small, diminishes the value of the skin. 

There are several ways of drying the skins, 
though it is always rather difificult to keep them 
supple and intact. The following method is the 
one we recommend. Flay the animal as soon 
as possible, nail the skin on a board, stretching 
it well, and brush the flesh side with very hot 
water and a stiff brush until not a particle of the 
flesh remains and the skin is perfectly clean. 
Let it dry, and after a few hours rub it with 
a weak solution of alum. Repeat this for three 
days and the skin is ready. It would, however, 
be better to send it to an experienced tanner. 

IV. DiSE.\SES .AND Ailments 
When rabbits are well fed, well lodged, and 
well cared for, — in short, when they are intelli- 
gently raised, — they are the healthiest animals 
in existence. If, on the contrary, they are ill- 
lodged and carelessly raised, there is perhaps 
no race more liable to disease. Whoever gives 



Box FOR TK.ANSPOKTINT, R.MiniTS 

his rabbits proper care will have, at the end 
of a few months, enough experience to enable 
him to make diseases among them extremely 
exceptional. 



Still there does exist a certain rate of mor- 
tality among young rabbits, although no one 
can say with certainty what is the cause of it. 
This is evidently a question of great interest 
to breeders. Without being able to give rules 





.^ DuK II R.\i'.r.ir ( Ill-M.arked) 

or precepts for bringing young rabbits safely 
to a certain age, we shall indicate a few of the 
probable causes of their mortality. One of the 
principal ones is convulsions, that is to say, in- 
sufficient vitality. This is hereditary ; a sickly 
mother may have a progeny without sufficient 
vitality to bear the little ailments of early life. 
It may also be that the mother has to suckle 
loo many young ; we could give instances of a 
'tingle mother suckling twelve or fourteen. It 
is easy to see that nothing good could 
come of this. The nurse will be 
exhausted and the nurslings feeble. 
When the survivors of such a litter 
reach the mating age their off- 
spring cannot possibly be robust. 
It is therefore unadvisable to raise 
too many in a litter, or too many 
litters. Five litters annually 
should content the breeder. 

Besides, the food given to 
the young rabbits is not always 
judiciously selected, and this is one of the prin- 
cipal causes of disease ; too much green food is 
ajjt to be given. The diseases that result are 
dropsy and diarrhea, which frequently end in 



262 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



death. The first is caused by too much hquid 
in the intestines ; the stomach dilates to such 
an extent that the animal can hardly stand on 
his feet ; the appetite is lost and the rabbit 
dies of starvation. Prevention is proverbially 
better than cure, and the precautions against 
this malady are good hutches, little green food, ' 
opportunity for exercise, and a sufficient quan- 
tity of dry food given with judgment, the more 
varied the better. 

Diarrhea is caused in the same way, and the 
treatment should be about the same. Hay is an 
excellent remedy, so are oats, whole or bruised. 



VI. Colds 

Colds are often very troublesome to rabbits 
as well as to all other living beings ; and if the 
animals are not properly cared for and kept out 
of drafts (to which rabbits are very sensitive, 
and which usually cause the trouble), pneumonia 
may result. 

The animal attacked should be instantly 
taken to a warm stable, given a soft bed, and 
be made to drink a little hot milk. Warm 
food, such as potato parings boiled with bran, 
will contribute to a cure if continued for a 
week or so. If, on the contrary, much mucus 




A Female Leporide with her Youxg 



V. Diseases of the Ear 
This is shown by the formation of a warty 
excrescence in the ear ; the wart hardens and 
extends more and more until sometimes the 
whole ear becomes rigid. To cure this at the 
very beginning and to prevent its progress a 
drop of sweet oil should be poured in. Even 
if the wart is scarcely perceptible, it is well not 
to postpone this remedy. It is essential to 
clean the hutch with a disinfectant and to be 
sure that no pus from the ear remains in it. 
If the disease is so far advanced that the 
swelling is perfectly hard, it must be taken 
out with pinchers ; and if the operation is not 
at first successful, it must be repeated for 
several days 



issues from the nose, the greatest care must be 
taken or the mucus will harden and stop respira- 
tion. Bathing the nose with hot water twice a 
day will relieve the animal and hasten a cure. 

VII. Disease of the Paws 

Rabbits, and especially the giant rabbits, 
suffer much from disease of the paws, and may 
even die of it if neglected. There are several 
causes of this malady : the animal may have 
wounded itself, or it may be poisoned by the 
filth of the hutch or by the manure which fre- 
quently clings to its feet. To prevent this evil 
the hutches must be kept clean, and the rabbit 
should be given daily a handful of fresh hay or 
straw for a soft bed. 



XI 
THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



After the large quadrupeds and the denizens 
of the poultry yard come the birds. They do 
not guard our houses, nor carry our property, 
nor furnish our principal food ; 
consequently they yield the 
palm of usefulness to the 
other domestic animals. But 
what do they give us in ex- 
change .' Sunshine in the 
house, joyous warbling in our 
chamber, and an example of 
tender solicitude and care for 
their offspring surely furnish 
compensation enough. They 
do more ; they repay with 
usury the affection of the 
owners who breed them. A 
judicious education is more 
successful with them than 
with other animals and is 
very lucrative. By beginning 
with a couple of fine birds 
any one, no matter how little 
experience he may have, can 
safely devote himself to this 
branch of industry, and will 
soon obtain from it very 
pretty profits. Naturally this 
requires faculty, and, above 
all, patience. 

Germany, in the Hartz 
Mountains, and England, — at 
Norwich, for example, — have 
shown us how much can be 
done. The raising of canaries 
in Germany has become a 
flourishing industry, and cer- 
tain districts in England do 
a great business in English 
canaries of a special color. Many persons will 
be surprised to hear that the latter are fre- 
quently sold for from thirty to forty dollars 



each ; and these are nothing but canaries, while 
the merchants are importing other beautiful 
aviary birds by thousands from foreign parts. 




WlLO C.\NARIES .VND THEHi NF-ST 

Besides the profits they bring in, there are 
other advantages of having birds in a house. 
The songs and joyous flutter of these little 



263 



264 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



guests put sunshine and good humor into a 
family ; a taste for birds gives useful occupa- 
tion, their management a healthy habit, and 
though we must keep them caged, they are the 
liveliest and often the most welcome members 




The Norwich Canary 

of the household. The most popular among 
them is, of course, the canary. 

I. The Can.^ry 
Though we keep canaries especially for their 
song, they are also raised for their color ; in 
fact, they may be called the jewels of the 
aviary. The ancestor of our tamed canary 
{Serinus canarius), which belongs to the finch 
family, is not handsome, neither are his de- 
scendants unless the wit and art of man invent 
improvements. The wild canary has a greenish- 



yellow body with gray tail and wings. He is 
still to be seen in great numbers in the Canary 
Islands, in Madeira, and at St. Helena, whence 
they are sent to England to propagate. When 
the Canary Islands were conquered in 1478, 
great numbers were carried over into Spain, 
and from there they spread through Europe. 
They became the favorite pets of women, 
and in many of the ancient pictures (Gian 
Bellini's, for example) we see them perch- 
ing in some corner, or perhaps on a lady's 
finger. 

Tyrol and the country about Innsbruck 
were especially active in the propagation 
of these little songsters, sending them into 
Germany and Austria. The Netherlands, 
long under the rule of Spain, had its share 
of this trade ; in fact, towards the end of 
the sixteenth century it raised a special 
breed of its own. Before inquiring how 
these little creatures content themselves 
with the house and food offered to them by 
man, let us see how they manage for them- 
selves in their wild state. 

Like so many other birds, they build their 
nests in hidden places, but as these nests 
are never very high from the ground, it is 
easy to discover them. They choose young, 
slender trees. The shape of the nest is 
round, very wide at the base and very nar- 
row at the top. Some naturalists say that 
canaries make these nests of vegetable 
down and any soft substances found here 
and there rather than of twigs and spears 
of grass. 

The hen bird lays an &gg every day until 
she has five. These eggs of the wild canary are 
a pale sea-green with small maroon or black 
spots, which nearly always collect in a circle at 
one end. The egg of the tame canary does not 
differ from that of the wild bird except that it 
is more nearly round. After thirteen days of 
incubation and thirteen days more in the nest 
the young birds are able to fly, but their parents 
feed them for some time longer on seeds of 
grasses and the soft flesh of figs. The wild 
canary delights in baths, which should therefore 
be amply supplied to his tame descendant. 



THK BIRDS OF TilK AVIARY 



265 



II. Cages 

Leaving aside for tlie time 
being the aviary proper!)- so 
called, the advice that here 
follows on the lodging of birds 
in our houses applies as much 
to all small caged birds as t" 
canaries. 

The cage, considered as a 
furnished home, is often un- 
suitable, and therefore injuri- 
ous, to its inhabitant. For a 
single bird it ought to be at 
least eighteen inches long and 
eighteen inches high, while the 
width should be fifteen inches. 
Round cages, though very 
pretty and easily suspended, 
are not so desirable as square 
or oblong ones. Birds in 
round cages are subject to 
vertigo and are not sheltered 





Cagic for S.mall Birds 
Very practical in details 



from currents of air ; neither 
do the)- ever have a tranquil 
space before their eyes, as 
they might were the square 
cage placed against a wall. 
Metal cages are very good in 
the iiiatter of cleanliness, but 
they have the great fault of 
getting rusty from the splash- 
ing of the bird in its bath. 
Wooden cages, varnished out- 
side and carefully lacquered 
with white enamel inside, are 
the best. The)- should be 
thoroughly cleaned at least 
once a week or lice will con- 
gregate in the corners and 
holes and thus become a real 
pest. This misfortune can be 
]M-e\-cntcd bv an occasional 
coat of fresh lacquer. 

It is wrong to put polished 
bamboo perches or any round 
wooden perches in these 
cages ; they should always be 
semi-oval, as a mere srlance at 



266 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A NoRwic?! Canary with Gray Hood 

a canary on a perch will show. These perches 
should be easily removable and should be taken 
out often and cleaned or seeds, husks, and all 
sorts of dirt will collect upon them and will 
therefore become wedged be- 
tween the toes of the bird, 
which finally prefers the bot- 
tom of the cage to the perch 
which his owner does not 
clean, and the latter then sup- 
poses that the bird is ill ! 

As to the accessories, — 
seedboxes, water troughs, 
bath tubs, nests, etc., — they 
come in great variety. The 
essential thing is that they be 
convenient to use with safety 
and easily kept clean. Cages 
have a great influence on a 
fine song bird. The canaries 
of the Hartz Mountains will 



trill their highest notes in their little travel- 
ing cages, while they often lose their charm 
in a more luxurious home. Some breeders 
and dealers make use of specially con- 
structed cages to induce their birds to sing; 
occasionally the birds are kept entirely in 
the shade to correct a shrill or piercing note. 

III. The Song of Birds 
This song is the subject of serious study 
to breeders, for the song of a young canary 
of good origin can be improved and per- 
fected. It is interesting to see the results 
obtained by the Hartz breeders. 

There is much diversity of taste among 
the purchasers of birds. Some desire a loud 
song, with long trills and high notes ; others 
prefer soft warbling, clear crystalline rou- 
lades, and flutelike tones. There are certain 
faults, however, that all dislike ; as, for in- 
stance, when the bird suddenly interrupts 
a beautiful roulade by uttering a short, 
brusque cJiap-chap or tsi-tsi. To correct 
such faults and to improve the song of the 
canary, adapting it to the taste of the day, 
is not an easy task for the breeder ; but 
the breeding and training of singing canaries 
will always remain a source of great revenue. 
Thousands are exported annually from Mount 
Saint-Andre alone (in the Hartz Mountains), 
bringing in a revenue of from seventy-five to 





1 


^" - ' ""^""-^ji/-- 


' -y 7 


.-"-v 


ft 



Young Thrushes 



THE BIRDS UV THE AVIARY 



267 




The Rep Bengal Finch 



eii;"ht3^ thousand dollars. The 
best singers (that is to say, 
the best males) arc carefully 
kept from hearing the notes 
of the other birds; for it often 
happens that very good song- 
sters will borrow the false or 
less beautiful notes of their 
congeners. 

The great breeders aKva)-s 
keep a certain number of their 
finest singers as models, and 
from these thev make cross- 
ings, which is an art that re- 
quires a special talent. The 
results obtained ma\' be re- 
garded as among the greatest 
victories in the domain of the 
education of animals. At the 
end of eight or ten months 

the song has acquired its full power, and the forgets, and then the trainer bird is placed near 
canary knows several airs, which he sometimes him to refresh his memor)'. It is on record that 

some birds, few perhaps, ha\'e been suc- 
cessfully taught to utter words. 

IV. Food .\xn C.\re to be given 

TO C.AN.ARIES 

Rape seed and hemp seed, luiixorsallv 
known, may serve as the principal food of 
canaries. They ma}-, without injurw be 
made the sole food, if of good qualit}- ; but 
unfortunately they are apt to be adulter- 
ated with all sorts of impurities, among 
others charlock, or wild mustard, which is 
very injurious to birds. A little flaxseed 
is excellent from time to time for all birds 
of the finch tribe. It fattens them, and 
they eat it with pleasure ; it ought to be 
given crushed. Millet, salad seed, and oats 
may also be given. The birds are not \ery 
fond of these seeds, but millet will fatten 
them. 

Besides this seed food, \()ung canaries 
should have hens' eggs, boiled hard, finely 
pulverized, and mi.xed with bread crumbs : 
this gives excellent results. There are as 
many recipes for this egg food as there 
are breeders. It is absurd to disapjirove of 




An Enclisii C.xn.akv wnii Hood 



268 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



one mixture and praise another, because the 
results depend on the birds and on circum- 
stances. It is the same with green food, which 




The Tricolor Canary 

some breeders think injurious and others up- 
hold. It is advisable, however, to give the birds, 
now and then, a salad leaf, provided it is not 
too wet and has not been in the salad bowl. 

A single canary in a house does not require 
a great deal of care. Cleanliness is the great 
thi.ng; intelligent observation of the bird will 
teach the rest. The cleanliness 
of the cage requires a layer of 
sand, not too fine, because it might 
fly up under the bird's wings and 
irritate him. The bath tub should 
be kept full of clean water, and if 
the bird suffers from vermin, a 
bit of quassia wood put into the 
water will help to free him from 
them. As to the cleanliness of 
the bird itself (especially if about 
to be sent to an exhibition), it is 
necessary that the owner should 
wash it, which is by no means 
an easy thing to do. 

Here is some advice on the best manner of 
procedure. First, warm the room and see that 
it is quiet, with no danger of incursions of 



children or animals. Take three clean, shallow 
basins and fill one with warm water. Suspend 
an empty cage, which has been thoroughly 
cleansed, near a stove or fire. Lay 
a piece of soft flannel on the floor 
of it. The two other basins should 
be placed beside the first and filled 
with boiling water. After putting 
a trifle of soda in the first basin, 
take the bird quietly but quickly in 
the left hand. Let him be on the 
palm of the hand, covering him with 
the thumb if he attempts to beat 
his wings (which seldom happens). 
Then dip him up to the head in the 
first basin ; with the right hand take 
a soaped sponge, plunge it into the 
second basin of hot water, and pro- 
ceed to wash the bird quickly, tak- 
ing care to spread the wings and 
to touch every feather (except those 
of the head) in the direction in 
which they naturally lie. When all 
dirt has been removed wash the head very 
cautiously but without soap. Too much care 
cannot be taken to guard the eyes, which the 
bird will close instinctively. After this the 
third basin of hot water must be used to rinse 
him off. The essential thing is to hold him 
firmly, for if he escapes before he is perfectly 




The Gray Wagtail 



dry, the consequences may be fatal. When all 
the washing is well over, the bird must be prop- 
erly dried. It is then very difficult to hold him 



THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



269 



First he should be carefull)- rubbed down the is not advisable for the owner of a single canary 

back, breast, and head with a soft towel. Then to employ the Cayenne remedy, because in our 

the wings must be dried with e\ en more caution, day it is difficult to obtain it unadulterated, and 

being carefully rubbed always in their natural he risks poisoning his pet with some deleterious 




direction, after which the bird must 

be laid safe and sound, but still 

rather damp, on the flanne 

which has been spread on 

the floor of the cage. 

Though he will seem 

to be half dead, he is 

in reality full of life, 

and if he is left 

quietly to himself in 

some place carefull}- pn 

tected from drafts, he will 

recover from his fright in a \ 

few hours and be as gay as e\ ci 

A canary well cared for is a ^„ ~„„ „.„ „ „ 

-' The Toilet of a C.an.akv 

pleasure to the eye ; yet even those j,.(,^ J^^^ E.xposrnox 
most carefully treated have to pass 
through a period, which they cannot evade, 
when they are far from being charming to be- 
hold. We mean, of course, the molting period. 
This phenomenon, which takes place every year, 
cannot be called a disease, though many birds 
die of it. As temperature has a 
great influence on the duration of 
the molt, the birds should be kept 
warm in some quiet, tranquil place ; 
the washings must cease ; and as for 
food, more egg should be given and 
more seed and bread, but no hemp. 
It is well to put a bit of apple or 
cooked carrot between the bars of 
the cage, but no green food should 
be given. 

For young birds this is a ver\' try- 
ing period ; in fact, the influence of 
the molt is so great that some prom- 
ising young songsters never fully 
recover their powers. It is the cus- 
tom among breeders in England and 
the United States to give the molting 
birds a mixture of hard-boiled egg, 
biscuit, and Cayenne pepper. At first the) 
refuse this stinging delicacy, but after a few 



substance masquerading as Cayenne 

pepper. 

V. Inxubation 
r the incubation of 
the eggs of canaries 
and of other small 
house birds, a hatch- 
ing cage should be 
irovided, — one closed 
on threei>idea,-^-as large 
as possible, and so arranged 
that a nest can be easily sus- 
pended in it. This nest should not be 
made with too much art. It should 
be about two and a half or three 
inches deep and should consist 
chiefly of a solid pouch suspended from the roof. 
If it suits the female she will know, when the 
proper time comes, how to line it with threads, 
moss, lint, bits of grass, etc., which must be 
slipped between the bars of the cage. She 




1)K\ w iTii C.\ni: ! 



days they become extravagantly fond of it. It 



usually la\s her eggs early in the morning, — 
one a day for five or perhaps six days, though 
it often happens that she lays only three or four. 



>7o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Arrest of a Fugitive 

The eggs of the canary are soft gray in 
color, with dark red or black specks at one end. 
Thirteen days after the last egg is laid the 
young canaries may be expected. When the 
mother is well settled on her eggs, the male 
bird becomes very busy in feeding her. It is 
necessary to see that all dirt, impurities, and 



damp sand are promptly re- 
moved from the cage, or the 
feet of the mother, who some- 
times quits the nest for a very 
short time, may carry it among 
the fledglings and cause their 
death. The behavior of the 
female canary and of other 
female birds differs very 
much. Some cannot be 
driven from the nest ; others 
will always go off and swing 
upon their perches if any one 
goes near the cage. 

It is imprudent to examine 
the eggs continually, and 
patience cannot be too 
earnestly recommended to young breeders. As 
soon as the little ones are hatched the same 
caution need not be observed. Both the quality 
and quantity of their food must be attended to, 
for it is not always as good and as regularly pro- 
vided as one would naturally expect from a well- 
bred mother. The food of both parents ought 




The Woodpecker 



THE BIRDS OF THE AVLARY 



271 



to be very abundant durint;- this ijcrioil and color, which she endeavors to render as elegant 
should consist chietly of eggs. If it is evident and peculiar as possible. As the canary readily 
that the little ones are not receiving enough, allows itself to be mated with other species, 
they must be fed with tiny crumbs of egg given a great variety of bastard breeds of many colors 
on a bit of blunt wood. It is very easy to see has been obtained, 
whether they have a good 
mother or not. If properly 
fed, their growth will be \isi- 
ble from dav to da\-. Their 
breasts should be full, their 
bodies round, and the}' should 
look very lively. If their de- 
velopment stops, they must 
be fed with hens' eggs, hard 
boiled, which is not difficult to 
do, for young canaries, like 
all other young birds, open 
their mouths \-ery wide. 

At the end of fifteen days 
the nest ought to be changed 
for a larger one, because the 
young birds are then begin- 
ning to beat and flutter their 
wingSx and need more room. 
At the end of six weeks they should be sepa- 
rated from their parents. 

Of course much more work is to be done 
in the grSat establishments where the breeding 




OUK FK! 



The canaries of the different countries — 
French, German, and English — can be dis- 
tinguished by their shape and song. The 
French breed is noted for its slender form; the 
and raising of canaries is made a business. So German species, formed chiefly of the Hartz 
many things must be thought of and attended birds, is the musical breed par excellence; 



to that special works and manuals 
on the subject are issued 
Our advice is in- 
tended, as we said 
in the beginning, 
for those who 
wish to tend 
and rear these 
little songsters 
in their ho m e s 




\T. V.VRiETiES OF Bird 
In enumerating the principal 
species of the canary we ought 
to remark that while Germany 
and the other continental countries of Europe 

de\()te themselves to raising good singers, llie under the names of B. 
United States is also concerned with form r.nil canary, and so forth. 



NONXETTES WITH BLACK He.-\[) 

.Axn Blue .\mj Bl.ack Belly 



found in II( 



the English races are nearly 
alwax's \-er\' tall, of tNpi- 
c a 1 c o 1 o |- s , and 
adorned with a 
tuft or tojiknot. 
Before Ger- 
many thought 
of raising the 
Hart/ canar\- it 
was gencralh known 
in Holland, where a fine, 
strong, healthy race was bred 
and sent to all parts of the world. 
At present the Dutch canary, 
properly so called, is no longer 
ind, though varieties of it e.xist 
ian canar\-, trum|)et 



272 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



The Belgian canaries are sometimes called 
the " nobles " of the canary family. This is a 
question of taste, but if it depends on their 
external appearance they have a right to the 
distinction. A pure Belgian canary is large, 
with a narrow, rather flat head, a very gentle 




An Aviary de Luxe 

expression in the eyes, and the throat and 
nape of the neck apparently very flexible. This 
expression of the eyes is attributed by many 
connoisseurs to the calm temperament to be 
observed in the breed, showing long domes- 
ticity. It is not, however, by the eyes only that 
the bird can be judged, but by the neck also. 



When perfectly tranquil he carries his head 
horizontally, and we then see that his shoulders 
are very broad and strongly developed. They 
rise towards the back, which is covered with 
a thick down, to which a long and tapering 
tail is attached. The back and tail are almost 
vertical. The breast, all of 
which is visible, is neither 
broad nor round, and the legs 
and feet are straight and long. 
The Belgian canary, sitting so 
calmly on his perch, strikes 
the attentive observer chiefly 
by his lithe form and the car- 
riage of his head. 

In England and the United 
States we find in the Scotch 
fancy canary (sometimes 
called the Glasgow Don) a 
worthy counterpart of the 
Belgian bird, to which he is 
related ; but thanks to artifi- 
cial breeding, he now forms a 
distinct species with a much 
flatter head. He always 
carries his head raised and 
rounds his body without any 
apparent raising of the shoul- 
ders. Experts pay great 
attention to the posture of 
these birds and judge them 
by it ; and associations, clubs, 
and breeders have a score of 
points under which the judg- 
ment must be formed. Among 
breeders there are certain 
celebrated canaries that are 
known by their owners' sur- 
names. This Scotch species, 
which is becoming more and 
more the fashion, is raised in 
eight different shades of color, running from 
yellow to green. 

Besides this breed we find several others, such 
as the Yorkshire canary, an English one, much 
like the Parisian bird, but without its curly 
down; the London breed, a small bird raised 
in different shades (from green to yellow, to 



274 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




A Belgian Canary 






orange, and even to brown) ; the cinnamon-colo7rd 
canary ; the very handsome lizard, the body of 
which is partly striped (this species is extremely 
difficult to rear); and the JSIanchcster, -a, giant 
canary, which is sometimes eight inches long ; 
also a considerable number of mongrels. 

Some of these canaries are hooded, that is to 
say, they have on their heads a sort of cap of long 





A Flat-Headed Canary of English Breed 



A Yorkshire Canary 

feathers. The English breeder has gone so far as 
to raise certain orange-colored birds with black or 
yellow caps, which, of course, fetch a high price. 
As for the German canaries, and particularly 
those of the Hartz and of Saxony, they are not, 
as we have already said, distinguished by their 
form or color, but by their musical talent. Some, 
however, are extremely handsome, like the little 
swallozv canaries, the wings of which are of a 
different color from the head, the spotted, the 
striped, and the albinos. The latter, like all 



THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



275 



animals in which we see a failure of eolor, are 
generally weak and poor singers. 

We must now take lea\e of these charming 
domestic birds and study others less musically 
gifted, but nevertheless very worthy of attention. 

VII. Other Colored Song-Birds 
Without tracing the line between the graniv- 
orous and the carnivorous species, we must 
name a few of the io\dus songsters who inhabit 



and solid, with perches and poles ; the food 
should be flaxseed, soaked bread, and ants' 
eggs. The sitting lasts sixteen days ; the eggs 
are greenish blue with little dark brown spots. 
The 1^'ild tlinish has a way of perching, in the 
early morning, on the top branch of a tree to 
warble his matin song : 

That 's the wise thrush, who sings each song twice over. 
Lest you .should think he never could recapture 
Its lirst tine, careless rapture. 




The .-\vi.\ry of the King of Exgi.and 



our cages and aviaries. We find among them 
many beautiful birds of pure stock and many 
bastards, known in different lands under such 
different names that it would take whole books 
to record them. The same bird may have ten 
or a dozen names ; consequently it is best to put 
the Latin name after the familiar name of each. 
First we will take the thrush family {Tiinii) 
and its singing master {Tiirdiis mitsicus). We 
find him here and there as a bird of passage, 
though he makes his home throughout Europe 
generally. He is easy to raise and to accustom 
to confinement, but the cage must be large 



The hen bird builds her nest by preference 
near water. 

The black ilniish ( I'urdiis uifniia), a Euro- 
pean bird, commonly called blackbird there, 
is a wary, cunning fellow', but not so wary that 
he does not readily get accustomed to captivity 
in a cage. His whistle is lively, and he tries to 
imitate the songs of other birds. The female 
is very different in appearance from the male, 
being brown in color, while her mate is black. 
It is not difficult to teach young thrushes to 
sing various times, proxided they are sung to 
them morning and excning in a quiet room. 



276 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Thrush 

Many remarkable anecdotes are told of the 
maternal love of the hen bird and her clever- 
ness in systematically driving cats and dogs 
from the vicinity of her young. Confined in large 
aviaries, they make life a burden to other birds. 

Our American wood thrush {Tjirdits timste- 
limts) is an excellent vocalist, " the 
tones having a rare quality of 
rolling vibrance," sweet and 
placid and full like the 
notes of a flute sounded ^\ 
some morning in the 
open country air. Next 
to the robin this is the 
most widely known 
of the thrush family. 

If the American 
robin {Alerula migra- 
toria) is not a domestic 
bird, we have but few, for 
he is a part of our very lives. ^ 
His matin song is familiar from 
the moment of remembrance , his 
acquaintance leads him to our very 
doors ; he seeks the apple tree nearest 
to the country house, where he and his mate 
may build their nest, that they may live close 
to their curious friend — man. His song is 
sweet and charged with a variety of expression. 




The Green Finch 



We find a far more tranquil conception 
of life among the finches, who are all gay, 
alert, and good whistlers. Their principal 
food consists of seed, berries, worms, etc. ; 
in destroying the latter they do good service 
to farmers. The species named Fringillae 
spitius is much in demand for aviaries on 
account of its graceful attitudes. The color 
is not striking, but if coupled with the 
canary, birds of very pretty plumage may 
result. The eggs of this bird when living 
in a wild state are extremely hard to find. 
The linnet (Fringilla eannabina) is much 
sought, especially in Germany and Belgium, 
for the aviary. It is another member of the 
finch family. 

The cardinal grosbeak (Cardinalis cardi- 
nalis), commonly known as redbird, belongs 
to the finch family and is a songster as 
well as a bird of beautiful plumage and interest- 
ing habits. Great numbers of these birds have 
been shipped to England, where they have been 
known as Virginia nightingales. 

Mr. James Lane Allen gives, with rare sym- 
pathy and delicacy, a most charming descrip- 
— _^ tion of this bird in his masterpiece. 
The Kentucky Cardinal. He sa}'S : 



Lo ' some morning the leaves are 

on the ground, and the birds 

have vanished. The species 

that remain or that come to 

us then wear the hues of the 

season and melt into the tone 

of Nature's background, — 

blues, grays, browns, with 

touches of white on tail and 

bieast and wing for coming 

flecks of snow. 

Save only him, — proud, soli- 
tarv stranger to our friendly 
land, — the fiery grosbeak. 
Nature m Kentucky has no winter 
haimonies for him. He could find 
these onl} among the tufts of the October 
sumach, oi m the gum tree when it stands a 
piUar of ted twilight fire in the dark Novem- 
ber woods, or in the far depths of the crimson sunset 
skies, where, indeed, he seems to have been nested, and 
whence to have come as a messenger of beauty, bearing 
on his wings the light of his diviner home. . . . What 
wonder if he is so shy, so rare, so secluded, this 



278 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Linnet 

flame-colored prisoner in dark green chambers, who has 
only to be seen or heard and Death adjusts an arrow ! 
. . . He will sit for a long time in the heart of a cedar, 
as if absorbed in the tragic memories of his race. Then, 
softl}', wearil)^, he will call out to you and to the whole 
world ; Peace . . Peace . . . Peace . . . Peace . .' . 
Peace . . . ! the most melodious sigh that ever issued 
from the clefts of a dungeon. 



The brown tin-aslier [Har- 
porhynchus ntfus), called also 
brown thruph and brown 
mocking bird, is one of those 
perennial joyous singers that 
bring delight to every one. 
Who of us does not remem- 
ber these lines 1 

There 's a merry brown thrush 
sitting up in a tree ; 

He is singing to me ! he is sing- 
ing to me ! 

And what does he say little girl, 
little boy ? 

" Oh, the world 's running over 
with joy ! " 

This gladsome singer is at 
home anywhere, either on a 
branch where he swings like 
a pendulum, or on the ground 



where he is constantly twitching, wag- 
ging, or thrashing his tail about in the 
most ludicrous fashion as he feeds on 
the ground — dieting upon worms, 
insects, and fruits. 

The mocking bird, commonly 
known in this country as a cage bird, 
is the Minms polyglottits. As a cage, 
bird he retains his nocturnal habits, 
often singing and fluttering in the 
night. He is quite a tease also, for 
there is scarcely a sound, whether 
made by bird or beast about him, 
that he cannot imitate so clearly as 
to deceive every one but himself. 
There is no songster in America or 
in all the world that is so rich and 
tender in its song. The bird is an 
ornament to all aviaries, where his 
whistle and his melodious song may 
be heard all day. But some of his brightness 
is too apt to disappear in captivity, which is 
usually the case with captive birds of all kinds. 
The birds belonging to the Troglodytidae — 
the brown thrashers, catbirds, mocking birds 
— as a general thing are greedy, and scrupulous 




Tnt: Dutch Bullfinch 



THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



279 



care must be given to the quantity of food that 
is provided for them when placed in captivity. 
The linnet called " Little Pope " {Fringilla 
linaria) is distinguishable from the one called 
" Little Brother" {F. montium) by a black patch 
on the chin and a red skull, both birds being of 
a fine reddish brown. Though they do not sing, 
they have their place in the aviary, where their 
colors give infinite pleasure. In Germany it was 
formerly the fashion, as it still is elsewhere, to 
have competitions of singing birds, for which 
breeders were in the habit of putting out the 



of violet-brown specks. The bird can be taught 
all sorts of tunes, provided respect is paid to his 
caprices ; that is to say, the same gestures, the 
same flatteries, the same little coaxing words, 
must be used, and even the same coat should 
be worn when the lessons are given ! Well- 
taught bullfinches are worth their weight in 
gold. A great trade in them is carried on by 
the poorer classes of Thuringia. 

From the zoological point of view the^rZ/fw- 
Jiavtmcr or bnntitiff (Einbrrica citrinclla) is a 
link between the finch and the hirk. In its wild 



M 



' i 




m 



The Si-ring W.vgtail 



eyes of the shyest species with the false and 
cruel idea that blindness improved their song. 
The huUfiiiih is a queer fellow in an aviary, 
and full of self-importance in a cage. Still it is 
easy to keep him in captivity and to raise his 
young. He is very nervous, it is true, and he 
flutters about continually ; but if we once 
know his peculiar tastes (all finches differ 
materially in their choice of food), these birds 
with their beautiful colors are easy to raise and 
well worth their price. They rival many of 
the tropical birds in color. The bullfinch of 
the north of Europe {Pyrrhuhi vulgaris) is 
much larger than the bullfinch of this country. 
The eggs are greenish blue, with a little circle 



state it lives among reeds, and is more or less 
squat in figure. Thanks to its beautiful yellow 
color and its very soft, melodious whistle, it is 
very acceptable in the aviary, though in captiv- 
it)' it is apt to lose one or both of its gifts. The 
yellow-hammer {^Colaptcs iniratus) is not often 
caged, and belongs to the woodpecker family. 

The species called the 7cngtails (Motaci/la) 
are the agriculturists among smaller birds, 
especially across the water. They follow the 
plowman along the furrows, and will even 
jump between the legs of the horses. And 
yet, though very eager, they are shy and alert. 
They are constantly wagging their heads and 
tails ; hence their name. Though the yellow 



28o 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Lark 

wagtail is an ornament to the aviary, the same 
cannot be said of the white species, which man 
is not allowed to catch in most countries. 

The brown lark {Anthus pennsylvanicus) 
is found throughout North America, but is 
accidental in Europe. People say that the lark 
is well fitted for cage life simply because they 
want to enjoy its ravishing song. This is not 
so. Of all the birds of heaven it should be 
free ; only then can the full beauty of its 
song be known. 

Hail to thee, blithe spirit ! 

Bird thou never wert, 
That from heaven, or near it, 

Pourest thy full heart 
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art. 

Teach me half the gladness 

That thy soul must know,. 
Such harmonious madness 

From my lips would flow. 
The world would listen then as I am listening now. 

The spring without larks is no spring at 
all, and though they make their nests close 
to the ground they rise very high in the 
air to announce triumphantly the day's re- 
newal. But sweetest of all is it to hear 
them in the open country when " the pale 
purple evening melts around their flight." 
Those who choose may keep them many 
years in cages if fed on seeds, verdure. of 
various kinds, and roots, with plenty of sand 
or turf on the floor of the cage. 

The songsters and whistlers that we 
have now mentioned will not begin to fill 



an aviary. But how can we 
describe in this limited space 
the numerous exotic birds that 
ought to be in it ? We cannot 
even enumerate them, but 
must pass to their larger 
comrades, the parrots and 
cockatoos. 



VIII. Parrots and 
Cockatoos 
The first recorded informa- 
tion that we have about par- 
rots is in a description of a 
festival given at Alexandria in Egypt two hun- 
dred and eighty-four years before Christ. In 
the reign of Alexander the Great they were 
brought from Egypt to Greece. In Rome they 
were articles of luxury, exchanged sometimes 
for a slave. The cooked heads of parrots made 
a feast for Heliogabalus and his lions, who re- 
ceived their share, as they hkewise did of 



T iU .'^ 




The Goldfinch 




From a pastel by Juii van Uort 



Tlir: I'.IRDS OF THE AVIARY 



281 



peacocks. In the present da)- parrot soup is 
the choice dish of Cuba. 

A parrot was seen for the first time in Eng- 
land in 1504; and in 1704 there appeared in 
Amsterdam a parrot of a species still very rare, 
the black parrot of Neio Cuima. Nowadays 
the parrot is universally known and esteemed 
as a house bird, because his sociable humor 
and his gift of speech, together with the inter- 
est he takes in the members of the household 
and their doings, make him really very amusing 




Tin: \\\\\ 1 r.\u< ujuKT 

and interesting. In aviaries the various exist- 
ing species, of which many have a truly Oriental 
magnificence of color, are a joy to the eye, and 
form a brilliant collection that 
can hardly be surpassed. The 
innumerable species now 
acclimated and bred in many 
countries are difficult to 
describe with precision. We 
know the principal species to 
be the gray parrot, or jako 
(Psittaciis eritliacus), with its 
astonishing facility in speech, 
the gray Amasou with yellow 
head and blue forehead, very 
popular in seaports, the au-k- 
atoo with the great curved 
beak, the //;//' cockatoo of un- 
certain temper, but cheap, the 
white-tufted species, and that 
with a yellow tuft. 



< 


k 




^ 




\ 




y 





Gr.AV r.AROOUKT, OR POLI. PARROT 

Among the smaller parrots with long tails 
is the Nezo Holland {Psittacus Xovae Hollaiidiae), 
a very beautiful aviary bird which is particularly 
easy to feed. All the smaller parrots are espe- 
cially suited to aviaries, which they fill with 
gayety and color. The undulated parrot [Psitta- 
cus undiilatus), so called, can be bought very 
cheap ; since Gould imported them into Europe 




TiiF. Gki.i.n r.\U( 



282 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 




The Starling 

in 1840 they have spread far and near. They 
are generally green, but other species are 
raised which are very handsome, among them 
the whites and the blues. They are made to 
hatch (as do most of the parrot race) in closet 
nests, because in the natural state they raise 
their young in hollows. 

If persons have but one parrot, it is best not 
to use the traditional round cage, but a square 
one with a flat roof. It is not at 
necessary that the perches should 
be of metal. It is true that the 
birds take delight in gnawing 
wooden ones, but what of 
that ? When the perches fly 
into splinters new ones can 
be inserted, and, in any 
case, parrots must be sup- 
plied with bits of wood. They 
must also have plenty of sand 
and rust is as bad for them 
for other birds. Then why use 

cages ? The larger species should be . _ ^ 

^ Si- ^ Trained Crow 

fed with rice, Indian corn, and hemp ; 

the smaller ones with canary seed and oats. 
Parrots surely mark the limit of the various 
races that may still be reckoned among domes- 
tic animals. Other species of decorative birds 




are found in aviaries, where, 
bred and brought up in captiv- 
ity, they know no other home 
than that with man. Among 
them are pheasants, peacocks, 
and certain gallinaceous fowls 
that are never fully tamed. But 
can these be termed domestic 
animals ? For the pheasant of 
our woods, the wild bird we 
hunt, the answer must certainly 
be in the negative. Among the 
decorative pheasants, kept for 
their beauty, the best known 
are the golden pheasant ( T/ian- 
malea picta), very difficult to 
raise, and the diamond, copper, 
and silver pheasants, and all of 
these are brilliant in color, quick 
in their movements, and very 
self-conscious in manner. 

Peacocks were once the great adornment of 
parks and country houses, and the cool tints 
of their displayed plumage had an indescrib- 
able charm and beauty. The common peacock 
{Pavo cristatns) is either of a metallic green- 
ish blue or wholly white. The well-known 
ostentatious parading of the cock before the hen 
and his coquettish hops and jumps are curious 
to behold Other birds are disturbed 
by them and will not have any- 
thing to do with these proud, 
^^ self-conscious denizens of the 
poultry yard and shrub- 
beries, but will wander away 
from them outside of the 
park, if permitted, thinking 
their own thoughts on the 
subject. 
Neither the croiv nor the mag- 
pie nor the starling is admitted 
into the aviary for lack of brilliant 
color ; yet they are much nearer to 
being domestic animals than the pheas- 
ant or the peacock. The crow, especially, allows 
hirtiself to be taught and trained, while great 
amusement can be got out of the starling when 
his true value is appreciated. He can whistle, 



THE BIRDS OF THE AVIARY 



283 



cniak, ami talk for the pleasure of )'oiing and 
old, and he is one of the chief deiin'hts of man\- 
a cottage home. 

The magpie, given to scoffing, and addicted 
to strange, improper expressions which he picks 
up here and there, is not a \ery comfortable 
creature near a house ; he will e\en peck his 
master with his sharp beak, and, like the crow, 
steals every sparkling thing he sees, from a 
pair of scissors to a diamond ring. Much cau- 
tion must be shown in the feeding of these 
birds. They need raw meat, but if too much is 
given their naturalU' bail temper grows worse. 

From remote times the crow has phiN'ed a 
great pari among peo].)les and popular beliefs. In 



Germany, when he flies in a circle it is thought to 
be a sign of war. Crows live in couples, and it sel- 
dom hajspens that they flock together, although 
it is said that they assemble in Iceland in the 
autumn to decide where each couple is to settle. 
The magpies were formerly thought to be 
birds of ill omen. They brought disaster to 
the houses they flew over, and if nine gathered 
together one of them was sure to be a witch. 
Peacock's feathers, but not the bird itself, are 
still held to bring trouble to the household. 
These birds are very long-lived, usuall)- living 
from twenty to twenty-four \ears ; but crows 
antl rooks, especially rooks, are believed to 
exist for two centuries. 




The Crow and thk Rook 



XII 
PIGEONS 



I. In Past and Present Times 

Though the pigeon comes at the end of 
this work, and consequently after many other 
of our domestic animals, both quadrupeds and 
bipeds, it is not because it is less worthy of 
esteem. Unlike the gallinaceous tribes, the 
pigeon, by its docility and its readiness to 
approach man, is a better domestic animal in 
the literal sense of the word than most of our 
other feathered friends. Yet the pigeon has a 
quality that enables him, whenever 
he chooses, to break off instantly, 
and with far more ease than 
our other domestic birds, the 
ties of friendship that unite 
him to house and family. 
He can fly with a rapidity 
and to a distance unat- 
tainable by man — so 
long as the science of bal- 
looning is in its infancy. 

It is difficult to say when 
the pigeon was first known as 
a domestic animal. We know 
certain that he was such in ] 
toric times, so that his taming must date 
back to the youth of our planet. All 
pigeon races descend from a wild pigeon 
still existing, the rock pigeon, called also the 
wood pigeon, or ringdove. This species is spread 
throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa ; but it is 
found especially, and in vast numbers, among 
the islands of the tropical seas. In view of the 
incredible variety of species, it is almost incom- 
prehensible how they could all have come from 
one stock ; yet the fact was proved by Darwin. 
The earliest mention of tamed pigeons is, 
according to Professor Lepsius, the famous 
Egyptologist, during the period of the Third 
Dynasty ; consequently, three thousand years 
before Christ. 




The Dr.vgon 
Pigeon 



The wild pigeon is noted for its very bad 
nests. Legend says that, finding it impossible 
to make a good one, and seeing the skill with 
which the magpie made hers, he asked her to 
be so good as to give him lessons. The mag- 
pie consented to this on condition that the 
pigeon should give her a cow. The pigeon 
agreed ; but after watching the magpie a few 
moments he said he had learned enough, and 
refused to keep his promise. A judge was sum- 
moned, and having decided that the 
pigeon had no right to receive 
further instruction, the latter 
has, ever since, made shock- 
ingly bad nests. 
Tame pigeons, so frequent 
in Greece since the end 
of the fifth century before 
Christ, were long before 
that held sacred in the 
countries of Asia. They 
were kept in great flocks 
around the temples of Aphro- 
dite, and in Syria no one dared 
lay hands on them. They first 
came to Europe through Italy, where 
great numbers of white and colored 
doves were kept around the temple of 
Eryx in Sicily. From Italy they spread through 
Europe, following the power and civilization of 
the Romans. Christianity adopted them as its 
symbol, while popular belief regarded the white 
dove as the bearer of souls to heaven, and feared 
his colored brother, the rock pigeon, as a bird 
of ill omen. In Venice, that semi-Greek city, 
clouds of pigeons still inhabit the cupola of the 
church of San Marco and the roof of the Doges' 
palace, and woe to him who tries to catch or 
to harm them ! 

Nevertheless, in spite of these honors and 
of the affection he inspires, the pigeon has 



284 



286 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



much esteemed as the fowl or the other 
denizens of the poultry yard. 

II. The Domestic Pigeon 
The domestic pigeon, as it moves about 
in perfect liberty, presents a slender but 
not thin body, with no shyness or timidity 
in its movements. There is, in fact, some- 
thing massive and assured in its approach, 
small as it is. Its brilliant colors — blue, 
gray, white, or brown — charm the eye ; its 
decided step, its solid legs (though agile and 
touching the earth lightly), and its sudden 
flights, with heavy beat of wing, distinguish 
it from all other birds when in the vicinity 
of man. Thanks to its piercing sight, it 
can distinguish at great distances a seed 
or a pea, which it picks up daintily, never 
scratching the soil like hens. 

If we watch the pigeon in his flight we 
shall learn many things about the manner 
in which he turns in circles and curves, 
resting on his outspread wings ; and it is 
not surprising that those who call them- 
selves the " pioneers of aeronautics " should 
have gone to the school of pigeons to learn 
how to fiy quickly and gracefull)'. The 
keenness of the pigeon's eye and his rapid 
motions are really the only means of defense 
on which he can rely. His beak is not sharp 
enough to fight with, and his claws are of 
no use at all. The rapidity of his flight 
alone enables him to escape the enemy 
whom his sharp eyes have quickly discov- 
ered. It is remarkable that the pigeon's 
eggs are not of a color that protects them, 
being always a pure white. It is true, how- 
ever, that the ringdove usually deposits 
her eggs in such inaccessible places that 
wild creatures and birds of prey find it 
difficult to reach them. 

III. Abode, Food, and Treatment 

Like all other domestic animals bred for 

pleasure or utihty, pigeons require cleanli- 

never attained in Europe or America the com- ness, and the condition of their dovecote must 

mercial and agricultural importance of the gal- be watched incessantly. Whether large or small, 

linaceous birds. Yet as food he is at least as simple or artistic, it must, in the first place, not 




Common Do.mestic Pigeons 



PIGEONS 



287 



bo too low; then it must have several openings 
ti) the south and east ; it should not be made 
wholly of wood, nor should it be difficult of 
access to the owner. It is of little consequence 
whether it be raised in a corner of the garden, 
or on the roof, or in some angle of the house. 
A cement floor, partitions also 
of cement, and an absolutely 
tight roof cannot be too 
urgently recommended for a 
dovecote of any dimensions. 
The floor should be covered 
with a layer of sand (not too 
fine), and if there are maii_\' 
pigeons in the same compart- 
ment, partitions must be so 
arranged as to prevent couples 
from fighting before the open- 
ings of these compartments. 
The older the pigeons grow the 
less chance there is of such 
combats. 

As for nests, they can be 
made of all sorts of artificial 
things, and are quite cheap. 
In a good pigeon h(.)use it 
should be easv to remove 
nests, perches, doors, etc., in 
order to make a thorough 
cleaning every fortnight and 
so prevent vermin, which do 
so much harm. The parti- 
tions should be whitewashed 
now and then, and frequent 
use should be made of some 
insecticide powder. 

As for food, ever}' breeder 
has his own opinion. Beans, 
peas, corn, a mixed diet of 
potatoes, oats, barley, and, for 
a dainty, hemp seed, each and all give \aricty 
to pigeon food ; but the pigeon himself will peck 
at many other things when he flies away, and 
will be the better for it. In any case it is neces- 
sary to be regular in the distribution of food, 
and to renew daily the ample supply of drinking 
water. Nor should baths be forgotten, w-ithout 
which no healthy pigeon will ever feel at home. 



The male bird builds the nest himself, and 
when the female has laid two eggs she begins 
to brood. The male takes her place now and 
then, but not ffir long. The first young pigeon 
issues from the egg from the si.xteenth to the 
nineteenth du_\-, comi)letel\' blind and helpless. 



■?f '■■0^ 



«•* Vv%i' 



^-r^' 



'^ .W. 



-; ' Vff; 



A CORNKR OF TlIK (."..\K1 >1;N 

Its first food is a sort of broth secreted in the 
crop of its ])arents ; and it requires great care, 
as much from the male and female birds as 
from the owner.-;. 

I\'. So.ME Species 
Before naming some of the more beautiful 
species presented to us by the rich family of 



PIGKONS 



289 




and white have their turn. l-Jul 
wliat \'ariety in each of llicni ! 
What blues, for instance, from 
iJLjht to dark, gra\' bhie, purple 
blue, siKery blue, etc. ! And 
yellow contributes also lo stripe, 
spot, and ring, with a variety of 
shades that ania/.e those who 



A Loft ok Fancy Pigeons 

pigeons, it is well to refer to the commoner 
kinds, — the ringdove, wood pigeon or cushat, 
the turtledove, and the laughing dove. The first 
is found wherever fir trees grow. It is bluish 
gray, with two white rings around its neck. 
The second, the turtledove, is rather smaller, 
brownish gray in color, and the rings, four in 
number, are black with white edges. The third, 
or laughing dove, is a species of turtledove liv- 
ing in the sandy deserts of eastern Africa and 
taking the color of the sand. As for the color of 
pigeons in general, blue, black, red, gray, }X'Ilow, 



TUK C.AKKUIK FKJEON 

undertake to distinguish breeds and species. 
White also plays an imjiortant part. Some- 
times the head is all white, or merely the breast, 
wings, neck, or tail, as in the capuchin pigeon. 
Let us begin a \er\' limited list with pigeons 
of a single color and mention, first, the beautiful 




ScoTcn I'loi'.oNs 



290 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



white dragon, for instance, and the vioiidaiu 
pigeon, of a light bkie powdered with a white 
tint of marvelous beauty, making the tip of each 
feather look as though it were touched 
with hoarfrost. The eyes of this breed 
are dark brown, the shade of which varies 
as in all pigeons, according to the darker 
or lighter tint of the body feathers 

The cream color of the spectacled 
pigeon is also very beautiful. This 
bird usually has a dark brown design 
on its breast resembling a pair of 
spectacles. A like design appears 
on the lark pigeon, called also the 
Cobnrg pigeon. The Polish pigeon 
usually black, though some are blue or 
speckled. The starling-necked 
pigeons are much in demand in 
Germany, where they have smooth 
shining heads, while English 
breeders prefer them with tufts 
or hoods. They are dark blue 
bordering on black, with a metal- 
lic luster and a white half-moon 
upon the breast. The capuchin 
pigeon has a white hood and tail, 
and as he is also supplied with 
a species of dark tuft on his forehead (some- 
times two) he presents a very singular appear- 
ance. The 7nagt>ie pigeons also have white 
hoods and wings ; so have the sivallow pigeons, 
which bear not the slightest resem 
blance to swallows, and come in all 
possible colors. The masked pigeon 
is white with a colored face and tail, 
likewise the Nuremberg variety. 

All the species we have now named 
are subdivided into others too numer- \ 
ous to mention here. Agreeable va- 
rieties are the Russian drum pigeon, 
which does not coo, but gives vent to its 
humor in sounds resembling the roll 
of a drum, and the DjitcJi tumbler 
pigeon of the Netherlands. It is 
curious to see how the latter perform 
their aerial gymnastics. They fly to 
great heights with the rapidity of 
an arrow ; then they turn at right 



angles, make a somersault, sometimes two, and 
soar again, describing curves and circles in the 
air; then suddenly they drop to earth in almost 
a straight line, stop short, hover awhile on their 
outstretched wings, and begin the play again. 
Nothing is more diverting than to watch a 
covey of these tumblers in the azure air; 
I'er do they weary of the game, which the)- 
often keep up for hours. As for their 
color, it varies so much that our limited 
space will not allow us to say any- 
thing about it. The distinction 
between tumblers with long 
beaks and those with short 
beaks explains itself ; but 
these divisions are 
divided again, the first 
into white-winged, 
white-bearded, 
magpie, striped, 
Hanoverian, 
and Viennese 
tumblers ; the 
second into 
German, Eng- 
lish, almond- 
colored, Little 
Nun, and Jacobin tumblers, so that a volume 
would be needed for this race alone. 

The turbit, or frilled, pigeons, of various 
colors, are known by many names the world 
over. They are not large, but are very active 
and well shaped. Their heads are rather angu- 
and the feathers of the breast are frizzed 
shirt frill, hence their name. They 
re much admired at exhibitions. 
Another choice species, also in de- 
mand for exhibitions, is the pea- 
cock, or fan-tailed, pigeo7t ; its 
jrincipal colors are white, 
blue, or black, and the 
chief breeds are the 
English, Scotch, Ger- 
man, and French, 
all of which carry 
their tails spread 
out like fans or the 
tails of peacocks. 




The Tumbler Pigeox, Old Dutch Breed 




The Magpie Pigeon 




A Dovi-.coTi-; AT A I'Koi'i.u F.r.r.vATioN 



292 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



V. Pouter Pigeons 
All pigeons keep their food for a long time 
in a sack within their breast. Their organs 
of digestion are so made as to complete the 




The Dwarf Pouter Pigeon of Amsterdam 

work their feeble beaks have left unfinished. 
They all have, more or less, a frontal protuber- 
ance formed by two lateral appendices to the 
esophagus. In addition they have an upper 
stomach fastened to the esophagus, which 
receives the food, softens, and liquefies it ; 
thence it passes into the masticating stomach. 
These internal arrangements protrude the 
breast, and those species which swell their 
chests until their heads are thrown back and 
nothing is seen in front but these unnatural 
protuberances are called, in English, pouter 
pigeons, from the sulky, pouting air this atti- 
tude conveys. They may be regarded as the 
product of artificial breeding much practiced 
in central Europe, although American breed- 
ers have given to these birds so monstrous a 
shape that the English pouter is an alien 
among the foreign birds of his own race. 
Nevertheless he is sometimes sold ior his 
weight in gold. The English bird is long and 



lank in the legs, and is distinguished more by 
the shape of his feet, his attitude, and the oval 
of his breast than by the color of his plumage. 
The original Dutch pouter is not long-legged, 
and his protuberant breast is spherical like 
that of certain other German species. The 
head of the English bird is relatively small, 
and it is essential with breeders that he 
shall stand erect and hold his wings pressed 
tightly against his body. Our breeders 
insist that a pair of pouters must produce 
young with legs and feet exactly similar to 
the fixed type. Singular to say, the male 
and female obey his behest "so implicitly 
that their young as they develop have legs, 
feet, and claws of the exact prescribed 
length, while all their other points are 
brought to a preordained perfection that 
is nothing short of miraculous. 

The French pouter and the B runner breed 
have become of late quite serious rivals to 
the other species of pouter pigeons. 

Of what use are these strange -looking 

pouters 1 Solely, it appears, to furnish proof 

of the power of man to interfere with the 

nature of animals by steady and reflective 

application of breeding experiments. We 

have here a monstrous transformation, which 

renders the creature unfit for any natural use 

to which it might be put. Nevertheless, such 




^^y^ 



The Almond Pigeon 



changes can be so confirmed as to give, in the 
end, hereditary quahties. Pigeons used for 
scientific experiments, especially the pouter 



PIGEONS 



293 



pigeons, 
t<i iiroN-c 
and tlie 



have boon of use to mon like Darwin 
their theories on selection, descent 
])o\ver of experiments. 



The employment of pigeons as messengers 
comes from their facult\- of finding their homes 
and returning to them hum very great dis- 
tances. Though many other domestic animals 
ha\e the same gift, yet their unerring choice 
the jjoutors we must mention the ca- of the right direction, the rapidity of their 
]5igeons, the best known of which are flight above countries completely unknown to 



VI. Sf.vf.k.m. Species. Messen(;hk Pkieons 

After 
runcular 




Carrier Pigeons 

Photogra])lied after a journey of ^000 miles 



the carriers^ the Bagadas, and the dragons. All 
these birds have warty excrescences on their 
beaks and thick red rims around their e)'es. 

The carrier pigeons have a noble 
bearing ; their legs 
and without feathers 
the feathers of the bo 
are smooth and in- 
significant. This 
species has every 
appearance of a 
wild bird. Its 
flight is su|)erb, 
and surpasses that 
of other breeds ; 
but the thick circli 
around its eyes pre 
it from seeing well, ai 
therefore kept more 
than for use, and is \'ery costly. 
There are many varieties of these 
carrier pigeons, namely those of Antwerj) and 
Liege, some turbits, certain tumblers, etc. 




them, and the greater safety of their missives 
(carried through air and not on land) give them 
a very special value of their own. People call 
this facultv instinct, but in our day 
L' word does not lead 
L- n o u g h. Many 
searches produce 
heories about this 
\i r o b 1 e m w h i c h 
man\- e.\]X-riments 
destroy. Some 
say these travel- 
ers are guided by 
the position of the 
sun, but pigeons let 
ose at night find 
•ir homes as rapitlK' 
nerringly as by day. 
ieve that electric cur- 
rents have to do with it, but Hachet- 
Souplet ])roves that this is impossible. 
If, li()wc\er, we consider the keen sight of the 
pigeon, we may accept, provisionally perhaps, 



PIGEONS 



295 



the explanation of a learned French naturalist, 
given in the following paragrajih : 

"The pigeon sees amazingly far. Circling 
round his dovecote to a great and still greater 
height, he obtains an ever-increasing view ot 
his surroundings and of the horizon. It is true 
that this view becomes less distinct in the 




Germ.an Pioeons 

upper strata of the air, but it also becomes far 
wider. When, therefore, he is let loose at a 
distance from his home he rises in circles to a 
great height, trying to perceive some portion 
of the familiar \iew he has seen about his 
home, which then enables him to choose the 
direction for his flight. There are, of course, 
certain limits and certain obstacles, and the 
pigeon which can discover his route at a 
distance of, say, a hundred miles or more is a 
past master in his profession." He must have 
made many journeys before he attained such 
proficiency, a fact that should be taken account 
of in judging of the theory above given. 

A good messenger pigeon, to whatever breed 
he may belong, should have a solid breast, long 
wings, strong pinions, a slender tail of good 
length, and be courageous but not wild. Natur- 
ally pigeons with large, keen eyes and no defect 
or anomah' in their legs and feet should be 
chosen. 

\TI. Pic'.EON T'osr. Tk.mmm; for it 
l"'rom the da_\s when the champions of the 
Greek games made known to distant friends 
by means of pigeons that lhe\ were victors 



down to the present day when Russian eyes 
have been fixed in anguish on Port Arthur, 
hoping for news by pigeon post, these birds 
have Ijeen in many ways the bearers of good 
and evil tidings in times both of peace and 
war. A caliph of Bagdad established the first 
regular pigeon service in the twelfth century, and 
it is said that the Rothschilds have made enor- 
mous gains, thanks to their organized pigeon 
express. The press has been, and still is, often 
served by these messenger birds. The (ia- 
zcttc dc Cologne especially makes frequent use 
of them. To-day, however, the pigeon is not 
so rapid as the telegraph and the telephone, 
and so long as the wire has not attained its 
perfection point, the i)igeon may still keep up 
in times of war an otherwise hopeless commu- 
nication between two localities. It is well known 
that this was done on a vast scale during the 
siege of Paris in 1870, when use was made of 
microscopic photography to send by one bird 
fifty thousand copies of news in miniature. 

At the present time much use is still made 
of a maritime pigeon-post system, by which 
messages are sent, without signals, to specified 
distances from the coast. A military pigeon 




The Enci.ish Falconet Pigeon 

])ost is established in several countries, chief 
among them Germany. At Cologne there is 
a large station with five or si.x hundred jiigeons, 
which is in direct communication with Berlin 
and various fortified places. It is calculatetl 
that one hundred miles is the normal maxi- 
mum which a bird can fly and perform its mis- 
sions well. A special detachment of cavalr\ 
is charged with the care of these pigeons. 



296 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^l^^^^^^^x 


III I'^Vt^fl^^^^^^H 



Peacock-Tailed Pigeons 



In Paris there are s.everal establishments for an extensive service of messenger pigeons for 

the training of military pigeons, and in times their armies. 

of war every private owner of such birds is While we have no intention of concerning 

obliged to yield them up to the government, ourselves with pigeon sport (respecting which 

Italy and the Netherlands have both organized there are detailed works and special journals), 




Baskets, etc, for Transporting Carrier Pigeons 



PIGEONS 



297 



we give here some advice on the trainint;' of 
messenger birds which may be useful to the 
amateur. 

The voung pigeons must be taught to sta_\' 
in the basket, or hamper, in which thc\- will later 
be taken to the point of departure. When four 
months old they may be let loose, regularly and 
cautiously, at very short distances. During the 
first year this distance may be increased to 
about forty miles, which, however, is far from 
being the maximum for birds of good promise. 
It sometimes happens that very promising young 
birds do not continue to fly rapidly ; and it is 
best, therefore, to sjiare all young birds and not 
require too much of them. Each bird should 
rest for some days after a flight. 

The second year the distance should be gradu- 
alh' increased vintil journeys of about ninety 
miles can be made. The third year the bird, thus 
carefully trained, is fit to rejoice his master by 
some brilliant successes at exhibitions. 

The best time to begin exercising the birds 
is the end of May, when the weather is settled 
and likely to continue serene. Each bi^d should 



be carefully examined before its departure. 
Its feet and legs should be washed in tepid 
water, and all dust and impure substances re- 
moved. The food must not be too abundant, 
but neither should the pigeon be led to hasten 
its homeward flight by want of food, for weak- 
ness and exhaustion may hinder its safe return. 

As a domestic animal each pigeon has ful- 
filled its duty when it returns, safe and sound, 
to our roof ; and we need not trouble ourselves 
as to whether or not it has broken such or such 
a record by a fifth of a second. 

The messenger pigeon, if trained for domes- 
tic use, brings much pleasure into the house- 
hold ; therefore we strongly advise that the 
attempt be made to raise them, and a little 
corner yielded to the dovecote, near the ken- 
nel, out of reach of cats, abo\e the poultry 
yard, or beside the stable, where their pleasant 
cooing may mingle with the mooing of the cow, 
the neighing of the horse, and the soft warbling 
of the axiary birds in a hymn to the glory of 

OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



•■.3V 4 190? 



